


Apartment 45

by bondove



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Emotional Roller Coaster, F/F, F/M, Family, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Misunderstandings, POV Multiple, Raphael is so DONE with Magnus, Secrets, a lot mutual pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2018-11-16 23:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11263485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bondove/pseuds/bondove
Summary: A new man moves into Magnus’ building. Too bad, that he fast learns that he has a wife. It doesn’t stop him for pining after the mystery man though. After a few “entirely accidental” encounters with him, and “unintentionally” overheard discussions between him and his family, Magnus can’t help but become suspicious. Something is off – and he wants to know what. So, he recruits Raphael (who just wants his friend to get a normal hobby) as his assistant in his mission.Alec on the other hand just wants to save his family’s company – Exactly like Lydia. Together they made a plan to save their life works. It was supposed to be easy, but then he starts to fall for his neighbor and the act gets suddenly hard to keep up.





	1. Prologue - What are the prospects?

**Author's Note:**

> I've wanted to write this fic for a while now! In fact, this has sat in my drafts for like four months - oooops! I hope that you like this!

Lydia sat down next to Alec, and took a long sip of wine straight from the bottle. The paperwork was just casually thrown to the table, some of it was on floor and on the armchair besides them was an unopened box of binders. This was a mess that kept going worse and worse.

In his career at the Institute, Alec had solved some tricky situations because. He had prevented catastrophes from happening and made hard decisions. But this one was far more complicated than anything he had ever had to deal with.

They had been going through the paperwork for over ten hours without actual breaks. And that was only the time that Lydia had been there helping. Before that Alec had been working on this on his own for days. It hadn't gotten him nowhere. New problems, secrets, and frauds kept popping up in the papers, now that Alec knew what he was looking. He had been so naïve and stupid not to notice these things before.

"Well this is a nightmare," he said and declined to take the wine bottle that Lydia was offering to him. He had to keep completely sober right now. The situation was far too sensitive for him to be intoxicated at all.

Lydia on the other hand seemed to have no problem with taking some relief to her own stress from alcohol. She had her own problems with Branwell Co-operation, and Alec felt quite guilty for even asking for her help. In fact, he hadn't even actually asked, just taken the offered help, which wasn't something he did every day.

"Anything new?" Lydia asked and leaned forwards to see the paper on Alec's hands. There were more than eight highlighted wire transfers to people that were somehow connected to the Circle only in that single page. It was bad.

Lydia took a deep breath before taking the paper from Alec and putting it to the table, on top of about a hundred exactly same ones. "Maybe we should brainstorm? We might actually get something useful out of that."

Alec huffed. That was literally the only response he could possibly give. The situation is bad when Lydia Branwell proposes brainstorming. They both hated it. It wasn't rational enough and usually ended up with two or more people arguing off-topic. But right now, Alec was ready to try pretty much anything. He nodded to her, and Lydia fished her notebook and pen from the table.

"What are the prospects?" Lydia asked after a minute, ready write down everything even slightly useful.

"Best case scenario right now is that if we get to keep this from the press for long enough, and my parents and everyone else that was working in the company during the Uprising fraud leaves without a fuss, we are able to keep the business rolling."

Lydia didn't write anything down. That plan would never work out. Maryse and Robert wouldn't be giving up their positions in the board, not even if it would ruin their lifework. They both knew it.

She didn't even ask what was the worst case. They had already talked about that and the outcome of that conversation hadn't been pleasant. When Lydia offers the wine bottle for second time, Alec almost took it. He had no idea what to do. The company was doomed.

Sofa made a nasty sound when Lydia threw herself lying on it. Her eyes were closed. If she wasn't frowning, it'd have looked as she was sleeping. Alec had to get up to keep his mind moving. He was one of those pacer types, unlike Lydia.

"I think I have to propose either merging with another company, or selling even more shares for people outside of our family. The board will eat me alive," Lydia groaned.

Alec, unfortunately, caught the message in personal level too. Both of them would probably get into weaker positions for figuring out how bad the situations were and stating the facts to the share owners. For Alec that meant just being back at basic office for on the ground floor until the worst part of solving the situation was over. That could take years.

For Lydia, it was even worse. She had bled her heart out about it just a few nights back. After John's death and her brief breakdown their "family business" had been wary with trusting anything sensitive with her. And now that they finally had given her something, Branwell Co-operations' stock market value had crashed. She'd probably be kicked out of the company entirely. It was bad.

Alec needed something to sweep Institute's contacts to the Uprising and the Clave under the rug. Either that, or whole new board and management team. Lydia needed money and stability for her family business. That would mean two very different falls for the firms. Unless...

Alec hadn't even finished the line of thoughts when he heard himself speaking.

 "What if the Institute and Branwell Co-operations merged?"

Lydia's eyes shot open, she leaned forwards and looked Alec straight into his eyes. That could have meant anything. Her lips were just a tight line and she seemed to be thinking about it. After a while she, not cutting her intense stare, simply asked; "How?"

"We should get married." He stated shortly. Lydia scoffed and shook her head at first. Then, after a few second, she seemed to realize what Alec was actually saying.

The idea was simple. If they'd get married, the Institute and Branwell Co-operations would immediately start a negotiation - with or without their blessing. Lightwoods wanted to keep the old-fashioned, traditional Branwells off their business. The Branwells on the other hand wanted to take the "new additions to the family" into the board, since all the spouses were practically forced to work for the benefit of their company.

But if Alec and Lydia, both being in important positions in the firms, would propose the Branwells would merge with Institute, perhaps as a subsidiary, it could would stop the company from drifting to its end. Alec needed to sell the merging to his parents as the only way to survive a catastrophe if, and when, the Clave dig up dirt of the company's past during their nee Uprising investigation.

They could, of course, try that without getting married, but they both knew that it would never ever work. The Branwells were way too strict with keeping the business entirely in the family, and well, other Lightwoods would be against taking help and giving it to outsiders.

Lydia was an experienced envoy within business and had respect - not so much in her family, but in business world general. Alec knew how to handle red tapes and tricky people in the board, including his parents. It could work.

"Alec, it's -, it's brilliant. But we can't just go and marry without giving heads up to our families. And sorting the business out, it could take years. We would have to make it believable, it wouldn't work otherwise. How will we make that happen?" Lydia did sound like she was actually considering this. Great. But Alec didn't have an answer to her just yet. She was right, it needed to be believable, without a question.

Lydia took her notebook and pen back to her hands. She wrote something down without a word. Alec was pacing again. He tried to think.

When they had met, years and years ago when they were put into the same middle school, they had hit it off well. They both were uptight, according to Izzy and Jace, and shared similar views. They had hit it off pretty well right from the start.

In high school Lydia had dragged Alec to prom, student board and forced to join the archery club. Everyone had thought that they were dating, and they hadn't done anything to deny the rumors. Being married couldn't be much harder. They were together all the time anyway and many thought that they were together. Or at least there was some whispering about their relationship inside the company. Jace liked to keep Alec informed of that.

Lydia cleared her throat and motioned Alec to sit back down. He did as told and took the notebook from Lydia, who was offering it. There was a lot numbers and names. Alec didn't recognize all of them, but he knew that they were people from Branwell Co.

 "If we do this, it's going to take at least three years to complete the merge. This might be a bit optimistic, though. To that I added about a year to do some groundwork. And after the merge we can't just call it quits right away. People would smell a con and that'd be a kiss goodbye to our careers."

Alec just nodded. He hadn't expected anything less to be honest. Lydia pointed out some names and told who would be the hardest to convince into any kind of merger.

This conversation that they were having, being it an odd and unusual one, was going fairly well. Alec had a good feeling about this, deep down. It could work. This could save the Institute. And saving Institute meant that Isabelle, Jace, and Max would be covered for their entire lives. If it wasn't for them, Alec wouldn't have cared about the company. Keeping up the family honor was always weighing on his shoulders, but nothing really mattered to him other than Izzy, Jace, and Max. Screw family name and the legacy, they were his only priority. Maybe Lydia too, she was like family.

Five years wasn't bad. Everyone was pressuring him to "find the right girl and set down" anyway. This would get them off his back for quite some time. Alec watched how Lydia finished her notes, observing them critically. Maybe she'd like it too, that people stopped asking about her love life too. People talked about her a lot, her tragic love story with John, and how she was still stuck in the past. It was hard for her, Alec knew it.

Lydia finally dropped the notebook as well as the pen and turned to Alec. There was something in her eyes. Like she was trying to figure out some little detail that didn't fit to the picture.

"Are you serious about this? That we should actually do this?"

Alec nodded. He was sure. Maybe this wasn't the best possible situation, far from it, but they'd only benefit from the solution. The end justifies the means in this world after all.

"Isabelle and Jace will never accept this," she said, as if she was asking how Alec would deal with it.

She was right, of course. Isabelle would probably start a one-woman riot, and Jace would probably join her with joy. Alec told her that he'd handle it, and got a small huff as an answer. It wasn't mean, or incredulous though.

"If we go through with this, we'll make an extensive plan, and at least one back-up plan if things go wrong. After that we'll make a contact without juridical ties," Lydia stated and waited for Alec to approve it. When he did, without missing a beat, she let out a small laugh. Joyful one this time.

"And then we will get hitched."

Alec could help but laugh as well. "And then we'll get hitched, yes."

Lydia took the very same wine bottle that she'd been drinking earlier from the floor. She took a long sip, and then gave the bottle to Alec. This time he actually accepted, drinking just as much Lydia. It tasted awful, but he didn't even care right now.

They laid there, on the sofa, sipping wine in turns. The papers were still all over the place, some boxes untouched. It didn't seem like a mission impossible to get through it anymore. They could handle it.

After a while Lydia broke the silence and put the empty bottle to the carpet. "I have always wanted to get married in gold. Can we do that?"

She was a bit drunk, Alec could hear it in her voice. It didn't matter though, he knew that she was seriously asking. He promised that to her, getting a happy squeal from that.

Alec had sometimes thought about getting married. How wrong it felt, even as a concept. But this-, this didn't fell all that horrible. There was a tiny voice, that sounded awfully like Izzy, in his head saying that he shouldn't do this. He chose to ignore it.

On the sofa, Lydia was drifting into sleep next to him. It was way past midnight and she was tipsy, so it was understandable. Alec got up, slowly so that she wouldn't wake up. There was a neatly folded blanket on the armchair that he took and put on her.

When Alec turned off the lights, he heard a soft, unsatisfied mumble coming from the dark room.

"They'll start to call me missis. Jesus."

 


	2. I Would Start There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Lydia are settling into their new home few months after getting married. Magnus needs action and Raphael might have accidentally pushed him into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know, I know. It's been over a year. I did plan to continue writing this, but life happened blah blah blah. Anyways. I have now both time and inspiration to write - A great combination! I'll try to update this again asap. I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

It was a very hot day in New York. Alec had thought that he’d be safe from the heat in the building, but he had been dead wrong. The air conditioning hadn’t been on in their new apartment. Apparently, it was to ‘save the environment’. The landlord had said that the building offered contracts to get cheap, green energy in the building if they wanted to use “clear conscious energy”. Truth to be told, Alec couldn’t have cared less about that. It was obvious that the building’s owner benefited from the electricity company he promoted. And after all, he wasn’t cranky because of the sells speech anyway; moving made him tense and the heat did little to improve his mood.

 

They had moved all their stuff into the new apartment yesterday. The moving company had brought the furniture there few days before. The easy part was over. Now they’d have to organize everything and have people popping up to visit just to see how it was coming along. Alec hated having people over unannounced.

 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it,” Lydia said from behind him and put a cardboard box titled FAMILY PHOTOS on the floor. Alec just shrugged, he wasn’t in the right mental state to hype with Lydia. Not that either of them was much of a hype person anyway. But Lydia was right, the apartment was beautiful.

 

Finding the place had taken ages. They had had a lot of requirements for the apartment. For their luck, money wasn’t an issue for them. Otherwise they would have gotten a place like this in million years. The apartment was pretty big: three decent sized bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, dining room, hall and balcony. They would turn one of the bedrooms to an office, so they’d have one quest bedroom plus the master bedroom. Their marriage might have been a fraud, but they still shared a bed.

 

They had been married for three months now. Engaged for five before that. It had taken maybe two weeks for them to start out their plan after the night they first talked about it. Alec and Lydia had hosted a dinner party for their families at Alec’s old apartment and told them that they were together and planned to get married soon. Alec’s parents had been delighted; After all Lydia was a beautiful and well achieving woman. Lydia’s mother had been crying from joy. Izzy had pretty much started a riot. She thought it was ridiculous and that they should think about it. She didn’t know all the facts, so her opinion wasn’t heard.

 

Alec and Lydia had made up a story for them to tell. How they had been best friends for ages, but never really thought about getting together. They had made up a bunch of lies of how they had a brief romance during high school, but then Lydia had met John. Lydia had been on the verge of tears when she talked about John during the dinner party. Alec had been there to hold her hand. It had been a very weird experience. John’s death was in a way part of their story. According to it, they had become closer to each other and Alec got Lydia through dark times. That was when their “romance” really started.

 

In all honestly, Alec was amazed by Lydia’s ability to tell the story so effortlessly. As if she believed every single word she said. Alec was way too socially awkward for that. His job had been to nod and smile. At least that was what Lydia told him to do. They had practiced being married a lot. How to make it believable. It had been hard for Alec. Really hard.

 

Lydia had taught him many little things. She said that they had to nail all the details. Alec had never been in a relationship, he had no idea how he was supposed to act. It was easier for Lydia. Thankfully she was a great teacher and was very direct with her instructions. There were many things that Lydia had told him to do, that he would have never thought about. Lydia had told him to say us and we every time he talked them. There was no ‘me and Lydia’, just ‘we’. He was supposed to complain about small, irritating stuff she did sometimes. _Being with someone isn’t always amazing, you’re allowed to be annoyed_. Lydia had said that many times. ‘

Hardest thing for Alec was to act natural with Lydia around their families. Business associates and other people who weren’t close to them, were easier. They never went into personal stuff. Parents were alright, they didn’t ask too invasive questions – not from Alec at least. Izzy and Jace on the other hand didn’t even try to be discreet. The sex questions were the worst. Alec didn’t know how to answer to them. Lydia told him to ignore his siblings and just not to answer. It was easier for them that way. Jace loved to joke how Alec had signed up to ‘bang the girl who deflowered him’ for the rest of his life. At least he had stopped with the virgin jokes now.

 

Lydia was sat on the floor emptying the box and carefully piling up the frames next to her. There was a lot of pictures. Most of them were of Alec’s family. Alec’s favorite photos were from their childhood. Lydia was in some of them. And then there were engagement party and wedding pictures. They were beautiful, but Alec was pretty done seeing them everywhere. He had made his bed and he was fine with it – pictures were just a constant reminder of the lies he had to tell his family. A lot like his wedding ring.

 

The ring had irritated him at first. It was hard to remember to put it on and not to take it off. He wasn’t much of a jewelry person. Now, he had realized that playing with it helped him to focus quite a lot – and helped him to stop bouncing his leg. So, it wasn’t that bad. The ring had also decreased the number of women who tried to have uncomfortably intimate discussions with him. That was definitely a huge pro about this arrangement.

 

“Do you want to have this in the hall or the bedroom?” Lydia asked and handed a framed picture to Alec. It was their wedding portrait. Getting their pictures taken had actually been one of the best parts of that day. It had been just the two of them and the photographer. Lydia had been making jokes and Alec had been able to relax a little. The portrait was great. They hadn’t posed for it at all. Lydia was looking at Alec, her hands on his torso. She had fixed his suit seconds before that. They were both smiling and looking at each other. Beautiful picture.

 

“Hall. I don’t want any pictures in the bedroom,” Alec said, and Lydia agreed to him. It was enough to have the pictures in pretty much every other room in the house.

 

When Lydia first moved in with Alec, they didn’t share a room. It took three nights, until Izzy barged in one morning and started a scene about how they were sleeping in separate rooms already and how getting married was the worst idea ever. Fortunately, Lydia was great at fast lying and told Izzy it was because she was coming down with flu and didn’t want Alec to get sick. Which had been true, in a way. However, they had decided that it would be safest for them to sleep in the same bed. It wasn’t that big of a deal honestly.

 

Being married to Lydia was easy. They were a lot alike. Lydia let him be and have time alone. She never insisted anything or put up fights. Lydia was probably the most reasonable person Alec had ever met. If he could, he’d probably be in love with her. It wasn’t like he didn’t love her. Because he did. He honestly loved Lydia, through and through. Just not as a wife. Lydia loved him just the same, he knew it. Their marriage was great. Way better than his parents’ one was.

 

“Alec, did you take the post today? My credit card still hasn’t arrived.” Lydia was now going through yesterday’s mail that had been thrown on a drawer by the door. Alec shook his head. He hadn’t collected the mail at all. Lydia had been the one doing that. He wasn’t even sure where the mail boxes were. Somewhere in the first floor.

 

“Would you mind going to get it? I mean I can do that, but I was thinking about putting up the pictures. I just now remembered the card.”

 

“Yeah I’ll go. Should I get something for us to eat from that Italian place?” Alec asked as he got up. Lydia fished the key for the mail box from the pocket of her shorts and told Alec to get her whatever he was getting.

 

Alec couldn’t understand why the mailbox had to have its own key. One would think that buying an apartment this expensive would get you a simple life without extra keys. Especially since their door just had a code pad at it, not an actual lock. Which reminded him to change the code as soon as possible. He didn’t need Izzy, Jace or Maryse marching in as if they owned the place. They had been helping with the move (or standing around, too proud to do anything like mother had).

 

The hallway was so cool. Alec hadn’t realized how warm it was inside the apartment until now. Or he had, but it hadn’t been so distinctly hot. Hopefully it wouldn’t take much longer for the air-conditioning to do its job. It had been on for ages, but the apartment didn’t seem to actually get cooler. Alec prayed for it not to be broken. Getting it fixed would be just another annoying inconvenience. His shirt was clued to his back from all the sweating. It felt gross. Alec shook his shorts and shirt a little, just to get them off his skin.

 

There were few people sitting at the entrance hall when Alec got off the elevator. The doorman was sitting by his desk and looked rather tortured. Alec was happy that he didn’t have to wear suit on this awfully warm day. The hall was somehow bathing in the sunlight and the floor reflecting the light did not help. Alec took a fast look at the mail boxes but decided to go to get the food first. He wouldn’t want to carry around their mail. Thankfully, the restaurant was next door. Walking on sunshine wasn’t really something Alec enjoyed.

 

* * *

 

 

Magnus was late. He knew it and Raphael made sure to send him an angry message about it every ten seconds. The traffic in New York was terrible. It took time to get to places. And yes, Magnus should have left earlier to make it in time, but he had had people to meet and business required some… discussing. It wasn’t like he would tell Raphael that the reason he was late was flirting with the girl from the delivery company. Raphael thought it was unprofessional to ‘do such things at work place’.

 

His phone buzzed again. Yet another cheerful message from the Mr. Gleeful himself. _You’re wasting my time again. I’m not going to wait around much longer_. Not as aggressive as the earlier text about gutting him if he’d take much longer. Not too bad. Magnus was late by twenty minutes, not hours. Been there, done that. Magnus knew better than making Raphael wait for ages now. That boy sure had a flare for dramatics.

 

The building was just around the corner, not much longer to go. Magnus opened two more buttons of his shirt as he walked. The heat was one reason for that. Irritating Raphael with his ‘entirely unprofessional and slag appearance’ might have been the biggest motivation for it though. What was the idea of having beautiful young body, if not to flaunt it? Magnus would be walking around straight up naked, if it was socially acceptable.

 

Magnus saw Raphael sitting on the sofa by the windows in the entrance hall of his home building. He spotted Magnus right at the same moment and looked furious. Or okay maybe not furious, but grumpier than usually. He was such a grandpa.

 

“You’re late,” Raphael said, not making a move to stand up. Fine then. Magnus sat on the sofa across from him.

 

“So, you told me. About eighty times. You could have called me, dear.” Raphael just rolled his eyes at Magnus, no surprise there.

 

“You were busy, I see,” Raphael said and looked up and down at Magnus. Oh, he noticed the shirt. Job well done boy. Raphael knew full well that Magnus was going through an unfortunately dry patch of his life. He was getting no action whatsoever, and it was really frustrating. And no matter how many times he complained about it to Raphael over a drink, he did not get the support or pep talk he wanted. According to Raphael, he should have some self-control and learn how not to be so dependent on others. Great advice from a lonely wolf to a social butterfly.

 

If the brief flirting with the delivery girl wasn’t taken into account, his day had been pretty dull. Paperwork at the club was probably the most boring activity of he could think of. All job had to have downsides though. He had made the mistake to let someone else do the important paperwork in the past, but he would not do that mistake again. Camille has really screwed him over. _Oh, Camille_.

 

Raphael was frowning at Magnus. No. Nonnonono. He hadn’t said that aloud, had he?

 

“You’re not involved with _her_ again, are you? I’m not having you crying over her again,” Raphael sounded bitter. No surprise there. Magnus’ numerous breakups with Camille had cost Raphael his job and hours and hours of listening to Magnus’ crying. For some reason, Raphael wasn’t too fond of that.

 

Magnus played with his ring, eyes on the floor. In all honestly, he had been ‘ _involved’_ with Camille recently. Nothing had happened though. She had showed up at Pandemonium few weeks back. They didn’t talk at all then. She had just showed up, made sure Magnus saw her and then left. It was just another one of her mind games, of course. Magnus had almost called her. That ‘almost’ had happened way more than once. Raphael was aware of that, and not happy at the slightest.

 

“What do you want me to do then?” Magnus asked, not really expecting an answer. Raphael wasn’t exactly a relationship advisor -qualified. Much to his surprise, Raphy answered with more than a grunt.

 

“Date someone new. Or do anything with someone new. As long as it’s not Camille.”

 

 _Easier said than done_.  Magnus wasn’t expecting any more of that warm and fussy help Raphael was now, surprisingly, offering. Why were they even talking about this? Magnus definitely wasn’t in a mood for Raphael’s attitude if he’d end up pouring his heart out again. Which probably would happen. That grumpy, cranky man really made Magnus open up.

 

They sat in silence for a moment. Not for long, less than a minute. Magnus couldn’t help but think about Camille. He tried not to look at Raphael, who was most likely looking more than disapproving. It was just so hard. Ridiculously hard. Every time that he thought he was over Camille and their mess of a relationship, she showed up and made his mind to yarn for her again – Even though he knew full well that that would be the biggest mistake of his life.

 

“And who exactly should I date? You? All I do is run from work to home and to see you. Or should I date the doorman?” Magnus didn’t even try to hide his annoyance. It wasn’t Raphael’s fault that he wasn’t in the mood. It was sweet of him to try.

 

Without missing a beat, Raphael looked pass Magnus, to someone standing behind him: “He’s good looking. I would start there.”

 

 _Good looking?! I would start there?_ What had happened to his Raphael and who this new improved version was? Magnus could help but turn around to see who he was talking about. For a brief second Magnus actually thought that he was referring to the doorman, but then he saw who he really meant. And damn, was Raphael right for once.

 

The man standing by the mailboxes was a sight for sore eyes. He was leaning against the wall and was doing something on his phone. He was muscular, tall, dark and handsome. Magnus’ type exactly. Raphael did have a point. He needed to get back out there. For real. Maybe it was time for him to listen to a dear friend’s advice for once.

 

Magnus didn’t waste any time. He got up and told Raphael to sit tight. Magnus tugged in his shirt a but more, just so that it would be a bit tighter on his chest. Buttons opened all the way to his bellybuttons in their full effect. Oh dear, that man was even better looking up close. Like a goddamn statue. Magnus was a fan.

 

“Hello, are you a new resident? I noticed there was new people moving in,” Magnus said. He really had noticed. They had been awfully loud on the hallway. Magnus wasn’t too bothered by loudness though. He quite liked it to be honest. It was all about the setting.

 

The man looked a bit startled, but he seemed to get over it pretty quickly: “Umh, yeah. Alec Lightwood.”

 

Oh, he was just adorable. Alec kind of smiled at him, but he looked like he was just lost. Magnus noticed the long take he did on his body. Good sign.

 

“Apartment 45, right? I live next door.” Magnus couldn’t help but to put his hand on his belt. Plan worked, Alec’s eyes followed the movement exactly where he wanted it to. His gaze shot right back up to Magnus’ eyes, when he moved his hips a bit. Alec’s face seemed to be going red. _Thank you Raphael, for noticing this man._

 

“Yeah that. I hope that, umh, we didn’t cause any bother,” Alec was biting his lip and his eyes went from Magnus to floor, and then back to him.

 

“Oh no, not at all. The former owners were a real bother, I’m sure you will be much more pleasant to have around,” Magnus was running out of small talk; “My name’s Magnus Bane, nice to meet you.”

 

Magnus offered to shake Alec’s hand and he took the offer. It was really hard not to break the intense eye contact they had. Magnus knew that their handshake was taking way too long, but he couldn’t bring himself to end it. And well, he didn’t get a chance. Someone else walked into his nice, flirty bubble.

 

The woman seemed to have appeared from thin air. Magnus definitely hadn’t noticed anyone new in the hall. He had had other things to focus on.

 

“I couldn’t find your wallet, so I just brought mine. Are you sure that forgetting it wasn’t a plot to make me pay for the food,” the woman said to Alec, grinning, before turning to Magnus. At that point Magnus finally understood to let go of Alec’s hand and shake that woman’s offered hand: “Lydia Branwell- Lightwood.”

 

 _Nooooo. Please no_. Magnus checked their hands and yes, both of them were wearing wedding bands. Oh, come on. Just his luck. He had to collect himself right now. He had a tendency to show disappointment way too openly if he didn’t focus on it.

 

“That’s bit of a mouthful,” Magnus laughed and wished he sounded casual enough; “I assume you’re my other, new neighbor.”

 

Lydia nodded and smiled. She said something about her last name being ridiculously long for her parents’ sake. Magnus kind of missed it, so he decided just to smile and nod as well. It seemed to work. Lydia turned from Magnus to Alec and took his hand before asking: “Shall we go?”

 

Alec answered in a bit clumsy manner, eyes on the floor. They walked off after saying goodbyes to Magnus, and Lydia told him what a _pleasure_ it had been to meet him. That poor woman had done absolutely nothing wrong, but Magnus felt like a kicked puppy. How dared she to be married to this hottie he met two minutes ago? He was being ridiculous, but damn that man. Magnus could excuse his poor conversation skills for the looks he was serving.

 

After standing there for few more seconds, just long enough for that pair to walk out, he walked to the elevators and signed Raphael to follow him. This tragedy of an encounter called for wine. Maybe he should download tinder again. Or grindr. Actually, both. More the merrier.

 

“Hot date coming up?” Raphael asked, and Magnus gave him a nasty look. Rude much. How was it that he only developed an ability joke when it was convenient to make fun of Magnus? Yet another great mystery of their life time.

 

“I was just greeting a neighbor. Being polite. Ever heard of that?” Obviously, Raphael had. He had the manners of an 1800s gentleman, just not with Magnus. Perks of being best friends.

 

Raphael scoffed, and Magnus had to physically stop himself from slapping that boys smirk off. He was having way too much fun. And going to talk to Alec had been his idea in the first place! Oh, Magnus bet that the bastard had hoped for an outcome like this just to be able to laugh at him! Maybe a bit excessive and reaching, but classic Santiago style.

 

Just when Magnus was about to tell Raphael that their upcoming activity for the evening would be to take pictures for his dating apps, he noticed a wallet on the floor. It was thin and made of shiny leather. High quality. Magnus kind of guessed whose it was but was still happily surprised when he opened it.

 

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood,” Magnus read aloud from the ID he pulled up from the wallet and shoved it right in front of Raphael’s face; “What do you think of the name Magnus Lightwood? Sounds pretty good, right?”

 

Raphael muttered something under his breath, possibly a curse or two, before answering; “You are aware that you’re a major creep, right?”

 

Magnus couldn’t help but smirk. Yes, he was definitely aware of that. It didn’t hurt to have a fantasy or two. And it wasn’t like he had started this. It was all Raphael’s fault this time, so he could blame himself. There was no way he’d just go to put the wallet in their mailbox or hand it to the doorman to pass forwards. No way. He would use this chance and he’d use it well. As soon as possible. A little flirt never hurt anybody.

 

“And now I have a real reason to go to creep at his door,” Magnus joked and put the wallet in his pocket; “Lucky days.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give me your love, give me your hate. Give me any comments and I'll be forever greatful.
> 
> Have a great day and stay safe y'all <3


	3. Barcelona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia and Alec have a small chat about their honeymoon and what went down there (spoiler alert: Alec did).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, Alec is still acting pretty awkward. It'll get better and he's going to collect himself eventually.
> 
> I wrote this today and wanted to put it up immediately. I did read it through few times (with more or less focus), but no one has beta-read this. Anyways, I hope this doesn’t have too many mistakes in it lol. Have fun, enjoy!

“I think we should bring a sofa out here,” Lydia suggested, but was fast to withdraw the offer; “Actually that would take up too much space. Just a table set will be fine.”

 

They were sitting at their balcony. It was empty, for now. Alec really liked having it. There hadn’t been one on his, or theirs, last apartment. Just being able to walk out for bit of a fresh without leaving the house was great. Doing work outdoors was really something he enjoyed. It didn’t feel as stressful for some reason.

 

It was getting dark now. Or the sky was, the streets never did anyway. After getting back from the restaurant they had used a good half an hour looking for his wallet before Alec finally agreed to freeze the cards. Which he kind of had done. He had only frozen the credit card and just taken money out of the other accounts. No one had made any transactions, so that was a good sign. He was pretty sure the wallet was just under some box in their apartment. It was quite a mess still.

 

Lydia had been going on and on about the décor that day. Or rather she had been asking Alec for his opinion, which in most cases he did not have. Even though he didn’t really care about what position the armchairs should be put at or what towels pillows they had in the master bedroom, he really appreciated Lydia’s effort to make sure he was fine with everything. That was probably his favorite thing about her. She might have seemed like a cold and overbearing woman, but she really cared about everyone.

 

They had been sitting at the balcony just for a bit. Alec had tried to get some work done, but Lydia had taken none of that and just carried his laptop right back indoors. It was a Sunday evening and apparently it was unacceptable to use it working. To be fair he had agreed to take one day off work, every week. Lydia had pretty much demanded that. According to her it was because she’d not watch Alec overwork himself in her house. Alec was fairly sure it was actually, so that Lydia wouldn’t feel need to work constantly too. Whatever the motive behind that was, Alec was a bit grateful for Lydia to force him to log off work every now and then.

 

“Did I tell you about the email that I got yesterday?” Lydia asked. She sounded casual, but there was something wicked in the way she smiled at him.

 

Alec just shook his head. He was pretty sure that this particular email she was talking about wasn’t the one about the upcoming meeting on Wednesday.

 

“It was from the hotel in Barcelona. You know, an automatic one wishing that we’d come back there,” she said, and Alec felt his cheeks getting red. He wasn’t even embarrassed. Or well, anymore. Back in Barcelona on the other hand…

 

They had gone to Spain for two weeks for their honeymoon. The plan had been to stay in a small village on the south coast for a week, and then go to some high-class hotel in Barcelona, which they did. But there had been a small incident in their planned last hotel. It had become the second last one, much due to Alec.

 

Their stay in the coast was supervised, in a way. They had stayed in a villa owned by Maryse and Robert’s old friend. Maryse had insisted, saying how it was such a lovely place where they could have some ‘private alone time’. It was a boat load of hose shit, if you asked Alec. He knew full well that in the villa someone would be watching after their every move. So, he had politely declined multiple times. It wasn’t until Lydia took the matter to her own hands and took the offer, but only for half of their holiday. She had been smart to do that. Maryse got to spy on them a little, and then they were free for a week.

 

The villa had been nice, Alec had to admit. They had had a gym, pool, bar and office to use. The downside was that there was staff walking around at all times and way more security cameras than Alec was comfortable with. The only place where he could be out of the spy zone was their room – where they ended up spending the majority of their stay. No one asked questions of why Alec and Lydia were locked there for such long times. They were a newlywed couple after all. Little did they knew they had been buried under paperwork and plotting up their plan.

 

But Barcelona? There they had been free. Completely. It had been liberating.

 

Alec had had his own room. Lydia had just gone and booked separate suites for them, which Alec was more than grateful of. He didn’t mind living with Lydia, not at all, but it was amazing jump from the around clock surveillance. To be honest Alec had been kind of freaked out of the possibility that someone could somehow find out that they weren’t staying together and the whole thing would just blow right at their faces. But Lydia had gotten him to relax – by getting someone else to do that.

 

It had been their first night in Barcelona and Alec had kind of been bombing Lydia with messages. He couldn’t have helped it. He was freaking out and his career and reputation was on the line. Lydia was right there with him and she was literally the only person he could talk about it with. But she had gotten fed up with it pretty quickly. Way faster than Alec had thought.

 

Lydia had just kind of barged into his room, way overdressed compared to Alec. She had made him wear the tightest jeans he owned and a styled his hair. Alec had been all in for clubbing, some partying had felt like a great idea. And it had been. For that night, and the night after that, and the one after that.

 

It was a well-known fact that Lydia was more than a little bossy sometimes. So, when she pretty much shoved him into a club and told him to ‘have a good time and stay safe’, he did as he was told. She had said that she would update where she was and with who every now and then – and asked Alec to do the same. Apparently, men were trash and should not be trusted too much. That being said they had parted and agreed to meet up at breakfast the next morning.

 

Alec had had a lot fun. He had been to gay clubs in New York too. But back home he was always a bit wary and looking over his shoulder to make sure no one he knew was there. Even though it was extremely unlikely that you’d just happen to crash into someone in a city like New York, he still stressed it. But in Barcelona? Oh no. Not at all. It had been great. He hadn’t had anything holding him back. Lydia had been quite jealous of the men he dragged to the hotel with him. Although she had only seen few of them, she had been milking information and details from Alec all the time.

 

All in all, Barcelona had been great. He had been having a good time with many many, people. And it had been amazing – up until he got kicked out of the hotel for ‘selling his services in the hotel premises’. _They had thought he was a rent boy._

 

Of all the awkward things that had happened during his life, that had been the worst thing to happen. Two security men and an angry, old Spanish lady had barged in to his hotel room at eight o’clock in the morning, when he was sleeping there butt-naked and hungover with a complete stranger. His stuff was pretty much carried out for everyone to see while he was trying to figure out what was happening. Alec had been wearing boxers, only his boxers, and raging at the staff who just kept saying ‘ _we left a note, we left a note’_. And if he thought it couldn’t have became any worse, Lydia had showed up.

 

That poor hotel manager had been on a verge of a heart attack that morning. When Lydia tried to ask what was happening and used the wife-card, the lady had reacted by sending the security to empty her room as well. They did not get their money back from the nights they had supposed to spend there after that and got banned from using that chains hotels ever again. It had been an eventful day. Lydia had thought it was hilarious, but at the time Alec had been too embarrassed to even try and laugh about it.

 

“Do you think they’d take me back? If I swore that I’m not a pimp,” Lydia asked, and she was grinning just a bit too much for it not to be just to wind him up. Cheeky,

 

“Oh, don’t you even start,” Alec said in the most annoyed voice he could possibly pull off, but he couldn’t help but laugh a little. Barcelona had been a wild, wild place. A great honeymoon.

 

Lydia made few more jokes about the incident, but nothing too special. She was just teasing him for being a ‘floozy’. As if she was any better. Alec knew full well about all the men – _and women_ she had been enjoying some time with. It just hadn’t ended like it had for him. Not that time at least.

 

“Ugh, I really need to get laid,” Lydia complained, and Alec couldn’t help but scoff; “Yeah well don’t look at me, I’m not going to help you with that.”

 

Lydia rolled her eyes at him and leaned back against the balcony railings. She was beautiful, attractive even, Alec could see that. But it just-. It just didn’t make him feel anything. At all. Alec felt shivers going down his spine just from thinking about Lydia _like that_. And it wasn’t good kind of shivering. Not at all.

 

It was really hard for Alec to think of women sexually. He just wanted to make a sour face at the thought of touching a woman like that – or Lydia of all people. Everything about it screamed wrong. He had tried it. Not like, physically, but tried thinking about women and being with them. Not a major success, that one. He was fine with it, to be honest. Fine with being gay. It wasn’t a big deal. But he didn’t want to go out, saying that to everyone. Or anyone, really. Lydia knew. She had figured it out way back, when they were in high school. Or well not so much figured it out but walked in on him and Oliver-something making out in the locker rooms. Good times, high school was.

“You need some too, now that we’re talking about this,” Lydia said and looked way too knowing.

 

“We are not talking about this,” Alec deadpanned, but he had already accepted that they would. Lydia was exactly like Izzy – she would not just drop a subject she wanted to have a discussion about. Alec was fine with that, for now. At least Lydia didn’t go into as much detail as his sister did.

 

“What about the guy at the hall today? He seemed nice,” Lydia said, smirking: “And gay.”

 

“Don’t assume,” Alec reminded her, but he did agree. Whatever that man was, wasn’t straight. Alec knew how innuendos and flirting worked. Even if he had been acting pretty pathetic earlier. He had been way off his game earlier. It was because he hadn’t prepared for that.

 

Lydia braided her hair. She clearly wanted to say something, Alec could see that. “Okay, just spit it out Lyds.”

 

She was quiet for a bit, and her voice was weak when she spoke up: “It’s John. Or about him. It’s his birthday next week. He’d turn 26.”

 

Oh, yeah. Of course. Alec hadn’t realized. Lydia didn’t really talk about him. Not anymore anyway. Alec had noticed how she got up in the middle of the night and got back after dawn. He hadn’t asked about it. He hadn’t dared. Lydia talked when she wanted, Alec knew that much. And to be honest, he wasn’t exactly great at comforting people. Awkward, more like.

 

“Come here,” Alec said and opened his arms. Hugging her would be easier than trying to talk about it.

 

Lydia took the offer and moved to sit next to Alec. She leaned against him and the wall, head buried on his shoulder. She was probably trying not to cry. They both disliked crying. Lydia had said that she hated looking weak like that. Alec agreed. It was weird. He didn’t mind other people crying. It didn’t make them weak or pathetic, but he sure as hell felt like that when he cried. Lydia was with him on that one. In his experience they only cried when they were drunk together and having a low moment together. And never talked about it afterwards.

 

They sat there in silence for a moment. Alec felt like he should say something. That he was sorry, or that he understood, or that he knew what she was going through. But the truth was, that he had no idea what it was like for her. He had never lost anyone close to him. He had been friends with John, but not close in anyway. When Lydia graduated and followed him to Lisbon, Alec had been focused on his own stuff. Lydia had been there, living her dream, _with the man of his dreams_ , and Alec had been in college back home in New York. And then John died in the attack.

 

“I really miss him, Alec. But I-, I don’t want to get stuck on him,” Lydia took a deep breath before continuing; “Am I terrible for thinking like that?”

 

“No, not at all. It’s okay,” Alec said, hugging her tightly. He felt really bad for her.

 

Silence fell again. This time it was way shorter though. Now, Lydia ended it with her giggles. A bit unsteady and shaky giggles, but still. “I’m here crying about being stuck to my dead fiancé, even though I’m stuck with a gay husband.”

 

Alec couldn’t help but laugh; “Not the most usual track record, I’ll give you that. Four and half years to go.”

 

Lydia joined his laughter. It was kind of funny. Their whole marriage was a joke. Literally. Very private joke that no one could ever hear about, but a joke nonetheless. This time their moment was disturbed by someone completely new. The voice came from the balcony next to theirs.

 

“Oh, shut up!” the man said as he walked to the balcony. He seemed pissed off based on his tone and the way he slammed the door open. The man lit a cigarette before turning to face the doorway; “I do not care, Magnus. No. You are not going to use me fo-.” He cut his sentence half way, when he noticed Alec and Lydia sitting down at their balcony. Thank you, see through railings.

 

It took just few seconds for Magnus to enter the other balcony. He was now wearing an open silk rope and jeans. It was certainly a great look and Alec really tried not to stare too openly. Tried, not succeed. Magnus seemed to spot them the second he got there. Why did he have to be a next-door neighbor and not just some random guy at the club? ‘Cause in that case Alec would definitely try to hit that.

 

“Oh, we got company,” Magnus said, and leaned forwards against the railing of his balcony; “Sorry to bother. A certain someone is acting rather childish.” The last part seemed to be aimed at the man smoking behind him, rather than to actually apologize. Alec didn’t mind that though.

 

Both he and Lydia greeted Magnus. Lydia moved a bit, so that she was no longer leaning against wither Alec or the wall. Their little cozy setting was broke. The moment of sorrow seemed to be long gone anyway.

 

Magnus turned his head to say something at the man he was with in a low voice. The man threw his still lit cigarette over the railing and disappear back indoors. Alec had some strong feelings about reckless behavior like that, but he wasn’t going to address the fire safety issues right now. He wouldn’t have had the time either, since Magnus was talking to them again. Or to him.

 

“I was actually meant to get you in my hands,” he started, pausing for a second and Alec couldn’t help but to over think the meaning of the words; “I think I have something that belongs to you.”

Alec didn’t have time to ask what he meant, because Magnus was talking again. Or rather, calling for the man indoors: “Raphael dear, could you bring the wallet here?”

 

Dear? Oh yeah. A boyfriend. Of course. Not a surprise that a man like that would be taken. That might have been a slight jump into conclusions. Or maybe not. When the man, Raphael, got to the balcony a moment after Magnus called for him Alec was pretty convinced that he was right. Magnus took the wallet from Raphael and placed his hand on his neck for a second before Raphael marched back in. It was a very fond gesture. Gay, gay, gay, gay.

 

“So, do you want to take it, or should I throw it?” Magnus asked. Alec was apparently reacting a bit slowly, because Lydia literally kicked him to move. Okay, okay, everyone chill. It wasn’t like anything was on fire. Or who knew, maybe something was since _Raphael_ had decided to take changes and throw a burning cigarette on the street. God, was he jealous? Lydia was must have been right, he needed to get laid.

 

Alec got up and reached to get his wallet. He could just reach it. He had to lean just a bit too much for it to be safe, but he got it. Magnus smiled very politely and said something to him. Alec was way more focused on the way his mouth moved to hear the words. A proper functioning brain was too much to ask, apparently.

 

It took a bit too long for him to realize he should thank Magnus. And when he did, his voice cracked just a bit, but enough to be noticeable. God, what was with him today? Maybe Jace was right, he was hopeless.

 

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Magnus said, and Alec could have sworn that he winked at him. Wishful thinking? Maybe. Possibly. Most likely. Also, Alec was happily married, as far as Magnus was concerned. Or should have been. Speaking of being the happy spouse. It was Lydia’s turn to contribute to the conversation. She was suddenly standing next to Alec, smiling sweetly.

 

“We’re still thankful. Would you like to come in for coffee sometime? Or a glass of wine. As a thank you. And it would be nice to get to know the neighbors a bit.” How did Lydia manage to sound so pleasant and calm? The trick was probably to be calm, not to act like a goddamn teenager. Alec realized he had been staring at Magnus’ stomach when he moved the rope behind his hand, now placed on his hip. Oh shit. He was everything but subtle now. Fuck.

 

“That would be lovely. Tomorrow, maybe?” Magnus said and the rest of the conversation kind of fly right by Alec, since he was a tiny bit more focused on Magnus’ abs. That man must have thought that Alec was a bit thick on his head or very much socially awkward based on his recent behavior. Lydia seemed to catch the staring too, based on the way she dug her nails into Alec’s back.

 

The pain on his back was a big enough surprise, that Alec hissed out loud and leaned against the railing again. Oh, how smooth. Magnus looked very concerned and Lydia was quick to lie how he had some back pain at the moment. Great. Mentally slow and crippled on top of that. He must have seemed like a very sexy person right now. Thanks, Lyds.

“Well, I won’t bother you any further. I have a feeling my companion needs some supervision now,” Magnus said and grinned; “Tomorrow at eight then?”

 

He didn’t stand around waiting for an answer, but just fled from his balcony. The second the door closed behind him, Lydia turned to face Alec and let out a low whistle.

 

“Damn that man is fit,” she said, and Alec just nodded as an agreement. That was apparently too much for Lydia, who looked horrified for a second; “Oh no. _Nope_. When I said that you need to get laid, I didn’t mean you to go chase after our neighbor. We have a stage marriage to keep up, Alec.”

 

Lydia had a point. She had a _great point_ and Alec knew she was right. They had agreed that they could go on and bone whoever they pleased as long as it would not blow up their story of a happy marriage. Not a problem. Had never been and would never be, that’s what Alec had said. And meant. Sort of.

 

“Stop drooling and unfreeze your cards,” Lydia said smirking. Oh, she thought this was hilarious. As if she had never been awkward around hot men.

 

“I’m not drooling,” Alec tried, but even he could hear how unconvincing and defensing he sounded. He might have been drooling a bit. A tiny bit.

 

“Oh yeah, sure you’re not. Just get it together before tomorrow,” Lydia said and even Alec had time to think about it, he had already asked did she have any great suggestions of how he should manage that exactly.

 

Lydia shrugged, and then let out yet another huge grin; “I’d try jerking off first, if I were you.”

 

Wait, what?

 

_Oh, fuck no_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give me your love, give me your hate. Give me anything and I'll sacrifice a cookie for you and light a candle or something. I could actually. I love candles.
> 
> I hoped you liked the chapter! Have a great day and stay safe lovelies! <3


	4. Hot Damn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confident!Alec makes its debut!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops I did it again (I played with your heart)!
> 
> Here's yet another, barely proof-read and edited chapter. Sorry for all the mistakes lol

Magnus hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. It just kind of happened. By accident. He had been about to leave his apartment, door already open by maybe an inch or so. Then he had noticed from the mirror hanging by his door how his mascara was smudged under his eye and stayed to fix it for a second. And then he had heard voices. Now, he did know that listening to other people’s discussions was a bit sketchy. But he was curios. Couldn’t help it from happening.

 

He hadn’t immediately known who were there in the hallway. Okay, that was a lie. He had known. Well, guessed correctly. Magnus lied to himself that he actually needed to correct his makeup a bit more, even if he had dropped the issue the second he heard voices. In his defense, he did eavesdrop a lot to other people’s conversations. Not just the hot new neighbors’. He liked a good gossip. Raphael had told him once or twice that it was creepy – not to mention disrespectful on top of that. Magnus chose not to hear that. Raphael was a grumpy old man disguised as a 20-year-old, Magnus was sure.

 

Anyway. The “accidentally overheard” discussion didn’t seem too eventful. So, no success on the gossip part. Not anything particularly juicy so far. Lydia had told Alec to hurry about ten times. She seemed tense. Alec on the other hand sounded just tired. For what Magnus gathered there had been something from with the way he was dressed. They had been standing by the door, Magnus assumed, for few minutes already.

 

“I heard that Imogen Herondale is coming in to your office today,” Lydia said, and it got quiet for a moment, until she continued: “No, Alec. You _must_ talk to her. Take Jace, for pampering.” Alec was probably inside of their apartment again. The voice hadn’t carried to Magnus, if he had answered.

 

Work talk, not really interesting. Lydia seemed to be very heavy on the business. Magnus wondered what they did. Alec worked at an office at least. Magnus kind of assumed that Lydia did too. Did they work together?

 

Magnus heard a door click closed before Alec spoke up: “I really don’t want to deal with his questions now.”

 

Questions? What questions? _Magnus wanted deets_. Oh darn, he was really that stalker neighbor stereotype, wasn’t he? Well, everyone had to have some flaws. His lack of hobbies was not the matter on the hand now anyway. The elevator beeped.

 

“We had a date night last night at the restaurant. The food was good. Sex after that was great. There, you have it,” Lydia was going through the events as if she was reading a list. She did seem like a no-nonsense person though. Based on the two times he had ever seen her. _Would doing pottery be a good new hobby?_ No, too messy.

 

Magnus couldn’t make up what Alec was saying now. Something about someone being a pain in the ass? Maybe. Was he talking about the Jack? Jace? J-what’s his name.

 

Magnus heard how Alec cursed, and then spoke up properly: “I don’t have the binder. I have to go back in.”

 

The elevator let out a cheerful BLING when it arrived.

 

“I can’t wait around any longer. I have to go. See you tonight,” Lydia said, and Magnus heard how her heels clicked against the linoleum. Magnus was about to take his bag and leave, when he heard Lydia continue just before the elevator doors whooshed close: “Mention my boobs to Jace!”

 

 _Mention my boobs?_ Well, that was a weird thing to say to someone. Although now that he thought about it, Magnus might have said stuff like that to his friends as well. Usually in the sake of making someone either jealous or greedy for him. Maybe it wasn’t that odd of a thing to say after all. And to be fair, Magnus did not know these people at all. Who knew, maybe they were weirdly hyper sexual or something.

 

Magnus stood by the door, listening. Would it be better if he went there right now, or could he wait up for Alec to get back to the hallway and then casually slid into the same elevator with him? _Overthinking, overthinking_. Not to mention, pathetic. It wasn’t his fault that that man was fit as hell. He simply appreciated a great figure of a man.

 

Waiting up for just a second sounded like a great idea. He wasn’t in a hurry anyway. Some light flirting was a nice start for the day. Also, he had a feeling that he did have some effect on Alec. Or maybe he just didn’t function that well around new people. Whatever it was, it kind of boosted Magnus’ ego. Not that it really needed boosting though.

 

“ _What are you doing?_ ”

 

Magnus spun around on his heels when he heard Raphael’s voice behind him. The fast and uncomfortably high-pitched ‘nothing’ he let out probably wasn’t the most convincing thing to say. Damn, Magnus really wasn’t used to his best friend sneaking up on him in his own home yet.

 

“Staying in today, then?” Magnus asked. Raphael just grunted at him before disappearing to the kitchen. That had been a bit low from him to ask. Poor boy looked like shit. Magnus was pretty sure he was going through paranoia and anxiety again. He was smoking a lot now. Magnus wasn’t a huge fan of that, the smell was just disgusting. But he did allow it. Raphael said that it helped. That was a lot coming from him. Raphael didn’t really comment on his situation.

 

Taking Raphael in was kind of a risk. A bit more than that actually. After the last time he had considered not letting him stay, but Magnus didn’t have a heart to do that. Raphael was like a little brother to him. He couldn’t just _leave_ him to deal with everything alone. Even if having him there had terrified Magnus at first, he was getting more relaxed now. It had been a month now.

 

Magnus had had some struggles with sharing his space with Raphael. That boy sure knew how to be crusty. Although that did not come as a surprise. They were very, very different kind of people. Magnus liked being in a lively environment. He liked having clutter around, playing music loud and being loud in general. Raphael on the other hand was very neat, didn’t like loud noise and kept complaining aloud awfully a lot for a person who ‘ _appreciated peace and quiet’_.

 

They had had an argument last night. Raphael got pissed, when Magnus mentioned the new campaign he had planned for his vitamin and mineral branch. He had taken it completely the wrong way. Looking back, Magnus understood the way he reacted. And yes, it had been kind of unfair of him to ask Raphael to pose for the campaign. But in his defense, he didn’t want to treat Raphael any different AND he couldn’t always remember what topics were too sore for Raphael to discuss about.

 

The new campaign was about drug detox kits. It hadn’t been Magnus’ idea to make it. That was on Catarina. But the poor idea of asking Raphael to take part in the campaign was on Magnus. It was okay that Raphael had gotten a bit offended when Magnus asked, but he was still a bit annoyed by the way he had lashed out. Then again Magnus should have thought twice before asking.

 

One good thing coming out of his lashing out, was the coffee date they had gotten. Magnus was pretty sure that the invite was for the both of them. Lydia had used the plural “neighbors” after all. He’d try to drag Raphael there for just a bit but knowing him he’d find an excuse to leave as soon as possible. Thankfully, Raphael was raised well and had great manners. He’d know how to behave. Magnus wasn’t so sure about himself though. He didn’t like to behave well. Speaking of which…

 

Magnus yelled a quick goodbye at Raphael and slipped to the hallway. The door of the apartment 45 opened the second his clicked closed. Perfect timing.

 

“Good morning, you come here often?” Magnus said, as cheeky as he possibly could. Good thing he managed to get that out before taking a better look at Alec. Because oh damn. _Hot damn_. Hot, hot, hot damn.

 

Okay, so. Magnus had some kind of a flair for the dramatics. He could admit that. No shame. But right now, he didn’t even feel dramatic comparing Alec to a god. He looked so good in his navy-blue suit. The few top buttons were open, making the look a bit more casual. Magnus was a fan. He could start up a fanbase.

 

“Actually, no. Just been here for few times,” Alec said, and Magnus couldn’t really tell was he being funny or dead serious. Not until he continued anyway: “but seeing you so handsome kinda makes me want to visit more often.”

 

Wait. Was he actually flirting? Or was that some odd straight-man humor he could never understand? Magnus honestly had no idea, but he decided to go with the first one. The thought of Alec’s wife flashed to his mind, as well as a picture of Raphael mumbling about immoral behavior, but those were fast pushed aside by stronger feelings about the… physical attributes of this man.

 

Alec pushed the button for the elevator and Magnus paid a lot attention on the way he curled his fingers after doing that. How was it fair that a man whose whole presence screamed a sex god was getting wasted in a marriage? Although, that didn’t stop many people from some _adventures_.

 

Magnus wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was staring now. Because oh boy, he definitely was. And didn’t plan to stop. Alec didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed straight up smug. Magnus wasn’t sure how to react to that. He wasn’t prepared for this. _This_ was very new kind of behavior. If Alec had been a bit awkward and shy yesterday, it had all washed off now. Which was a pleasant surprise, Magnus had to admit. Although it created a whole new problem of how he was expected to control himself now? It hadn’t been easy earlier, and now it was down right impossible.

 

“Am I still invited for a drink later?” Magnus ensured and forced himself to form an actual eye contact with Alec. It was a challenge. But he did love a challenge, so it was okay.

 

“Yeah, of course. Wine or whisky?” Alec asked, and Magnus couldn’t help but think was that some kind of a gay test. Wine or whisky, perfume or cologne, he knew the innuendos.

 

“Anything goes,” Magnus assured as he walked into the elevator. He saw how Alec gave a pleased nod to him. Was he genuinely asking? No, not with a face like that. Or who knew, maybe he was.

 

The elevator was not small by any means. It was actually a good sized one. Could fit a whole bunch of people there. But the way Alec decided to stand really, really close to him, one would have thought there wasn’t much of space. Magnus could smell the cologne Alec was wearing very clearly. He was so damn close. Magnus could just lift his hand by inches and they would touch. He didn’t do that though.

 

“What about yourself? More of a wine man or do you enjoy other beverages?”

 

Alec smirked, honest to god smirked. “Well, depends on who I’m with. Wine is more of a Lydia’s drink of choice.”

 

Magnus had no idea how to answer that. So, he didn’t. What could he even answer to that? Magnus had no goddamn idea of what he meant. Was he actually just talking about drinks? His face gave nothing away. The smirk died down pretty quickly, but there was a spark in his eyes. They were standing so close to each other that Magnus had to tilt his neck to look up to Alec. He could have not done that, but something just forced him to keep staring.

 

Alec didn’t look at him. He had his gaze on the wall. Magnus wondered did he do that on purpose. Alec had a killer jawline. Magnus was kind of weak for details like that. Very weak.

The elevator’s doors opened, and Alec walked out. It took a little too long for Magnus to follow him. Just enough time for him to get a good look at Alec’s ass. The view was great, and he definitely wanted to tap that. Frankly speaking.

 

When they got to the entrance doors, Alec stopped suddenly. Kind of as he had frozen right on his track. The moment was short lived as he turned to Magnus, smiling a bit. It was that kind of a tight smile you gave to the annoying customer who just wouldn’t shut up. Magnus wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Not great, that was for sure.

 

“It was nice to crashing to you. Have a nice day, Magnus,” he said before going back to his speed walking. Magnus didn’t have time to say anything or react in anyway. Just like that, he was gone. What the hell. Ten seconds ago, Magnus had felt like he was in an opening scene of a plotline porn. Now, he got told to have a nice day with a customer service smile.

 

That man was like a goddamn swing with his moods apparently. _Go figure with that_.

 

 

Alec felt his pulse rising. Why had he done that? Acted like that around Magnus. Lydia had been right last night. Going after someone so dangerously close home, in this case very literally, could end up destroying everything. No one was hot enough to wreck all the work they had done. Even though Magnus did come very close to that.

 

They had talked more about it this the morning. Or Lydia had been lecturing him. She had no chill about this. Alec understood it. He really did. But it wasn’t like anything had happened. Or would happen. Alec was smart enough to understand that boning your neighbor while being married wasn’t the best of ideas. Not even if their situation wasn’t the most traditional.

 

Lydia was kind of on the edge now. Not just because of John. Or Alec’s thirsting. Nothing like that. She had been trying to get the idea of merging even on the table at Branwell Co., but it wasn’t going great. And the merge was literally the only reason for the situation right now. They would have a meeting on Wednesday with the board. Lydia called it ‘the doom day’.

 

Alec’s situation at the Institute wasn’t as tense or critical. Even though Maryse wasn’t even trying to listen to reason about the merge being pretty much the only way to save the company in a long run, Alec had got Robert on board with the plan. And as much as he hated to admit it, his dad’s opinion weighted more in the board than his mother’s did. Two men against a woman was a closed case in a ‘traditional family business’. That was just a code for overlooking sexism within the firm.

 

The open office was full of people when he got there. Oh, Alec was happy he now had his own private office room. The perks of being the owners’ son.

His room was in the back of the open office. Jace called it the fish bowl. He had huge windows facing both outdoors, and the office. No matter what he did or how he tried to locate himself behind something, someone would always see him. That was Maryse’s brilliant plan of keeping an eye on him. The office gossips. It did work, he had to give her that much.

 

It honestly felt like his whole life was under a microscope right now. And in a way it was. Which was his own fault, yes, but it didn’t make it suck any less. He’d need to be careful with everything a while. Especially when it came to flirting and interacting with hot men who could blow it for him and Lydia. In which case his lovely wife would probably be the first to gut him like a fish. Oh, the marital bliss.

 

Alec had been sitting on his desk for maybe two minutes, when Jace marched into his room. He threw some files on the table, pulled a chair out and sat down with his feet placed on Alec’s desk. Alec wasn’t going to tell him not to do that. Jace would probably act out even more than he did now. Why couldn’t Jace’s neat freaking reach other’s property?

 

“What do you want?” Alec asked, and he knew he was coming off way harsher than intended. Jace didn’t seem to mind too much, as he yawned slowly and moved his jaw from side to side, as he was bored.

 

Alec choose to ignore him. He checked the files that Jace had brought – the ones he had been supposed to get ready for last Thursday. Jace was wasted in the company’s payroll. Alec didn’t understand why he was working there in the first place. He could do anything, but Jace choose to stay in the family business even though he hated the paper work and official meetings.

 

“Well, aren’t you going to ask about my weekend?” Jace might have asked a question, but it sounded way more like an offended claim. As is Jace’s life should have been Alec’s number one priority. Which was probably how Jace thought anyway. But to be fair, he was barely 20 and had no responsibilities whatsoever. So, Alec kind of understood why he was the way he was. Didn’t make it any less irritating though.

 

When Alec told Jace he wasn’t particularly interested in finding out, Jace completely ignored it.

 

“I had sex with this one girl from the field training,” Jace started before taking a break to lick his lips and cock his eyebrows; “Maia. The one with the curls and the scar. She’s so damn hot. We did it at the alley. Twice.”

 

 _Oh god, gross_. Way too many details. Alec did not want to hear anymore about this field training girl. Jace looked incredibly smug and Alec just hoped that she’d not be just another one of those chicks who hopelessly fell for his brother.

 

“I’m trying to work, Jace.”

 

“Okay, then. Do you want me to go?”

 

Jace did not lift a finger when Alec wished him away. Typical. Alec opened his computer, checked his email and typed some short messages. He did everything he could to ignore Jace. Jace on the other hand seemed not to mind this setting at all. He just sat there, letting out low whistles every now and then when someone walked past the office. Why he had to be like that?

 

Apparently, Alec was feeling particularly generous today, because it only took about ten minutes before he asked what Jace was actually after.

 

“Your car. _Please_. I need a good ride to give someone a good ride.”

 

Oh no. Not gonna happen. Jace was a terrible driver and he would not wreck Alec’s brand-new BMW.  Not a change. Not even if Alec didn’t really need the car at the moment and it was just standing in the garage.

 

But then Alec remembered what Lydia had said about Jace and pampering Imogen. Was he really going to risk his car for this? Although the next thing in the line was his career, so maybe the car wouldn’t be that big of a loss compared to that. Alec took a deep breath and gave his offer. Jace would get his car for Friday IF he gave the binder about the merge to Imogen and got her to back up Alec and Lydia. Jace took it.

 

“You do realize you actually need to do something about it?” Alec asked and shoved Jace’s leg with a pen. Jace yelped something about new pants, but Alec didn’t care. He wanted his brother out. Now. Some people had a job to do.

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll just call up grandma for a nice dinner and flash the Herondale smile,” Jace said and smirked; “works every time.”

 

Alec rolled his eyes. Of course Jace would just get away without actually doing anything. Typical.

 

“I’ll send someone to bring it over. Now get the hell out, I have things to do.”

 

This time Jace actually did as he was told, without wasting everyone’s time. He was probably just scared Alec would withdraw the offer if he stuck around any longer. And oh boy was he right. Alec wasn’t in a mood to hear about Jace’s love life. Or sex life, to be exact. His own one happened to be pretty shitty at the moment and he was fast developing some…desire for a certain someone. Who also happened to belong in the very small amount of the population of New York Alec was not allowed to touch. A goddamn forbitten fruit.

 

How was it fair that the situation caused entirely by Alec’s personal decisions that no one had forced him to make, was now biting him in the ass? Alec clenched his teeth and closed his eyes for a second.

 

Time to get over it and actually get some work done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give me your love, give me your hate, this line is getting worn out, but no can do.
> 
> Have a great day and stay safe babes! <3


	5. Come In!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus and Raphael pay a visit to the Branwell-Lightwood household. Lydia has a vice - and it seems that Alec has one too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii! Writing this chapter took a little longer than I first thought, but it's finally done! I think I'll be publishing the next chapter in few days - no promises though, I have a super-intense few weeks ahead so we'll see. I'm gonna do my best to update this as much as I can!
> 
> This week has been full of joy and I've been weeping happy tears since homosexuality is no longer a crime in India. Go gay liberation! The fight is far from over, but victories like this are HUGE in the worldwide battle for human rights!

*** THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF DRUG ABUSE***

 

The whole day had been dragging after the elevator incident. Or it wasn’t really an incident since nothing happened. But in a way something had. No, actually something most definitely had happened. Magnus just wasn’t sure what it was exactly.

 

Alec had definitely been flirting with him. If that was what you wanted to call it. But the way he had suddenly switched his behavior and left did leave a really bad taste in his mouth. What had happened? Had he said something? Or done something? Magnus was fairly sure he hadn’t.

 

Rationally speaking it was probably because, let’s face it, the guy was married and to be honest seemed to be pretty happily so. Magnus wasn’t blind. He was usually good at reading people. And he hadn’t gotten the same vibe from Alec as he got from other men in unhappy marriages. The way they had been sitting at the balcony yesterday was far from the way two people in a bad relationship acted like. In Magnus’ experience anyway.

 

He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the morning. Not to mention the fact that he would go over to Alec and Lydia’s apartment in less than an hour for a drink. Or coffee. Magnus wasn’t entirely sure which one. He would find out soon enough. One thing he needed to do, really needed to do, was to talk to Raphael. He had been putting that aside since he got home.

 

Talking with Raphael was a bit of a workload to be honest. Magnus knew he was hurt and that he needed to apologize. Not a big deal EXCEPT Raphael would never admit he was hurt. He was too proud for that. And Magnus seemed to have a bad habit to insist. Which obviously made Raphael to lose his temper with Magnus, which caused more fighting.

 

Their friendship was weird. More than that. They did not get along. They didn’t like the same things. Most times they couldn’t stand each other, and they were constantly arguing about something. But they would have done literally anything for one another. Magnus knew that even if that man got on his nerves more than anyone else and even though they couldn’t have a discussion without wit, Raphael really was his best friend. Which was why he definitely needed to talk to him. Now rather than later.

 

Raphael was at the balcony again. He was probably having a smoke. Magnus chose to sit down in the living room and just wait for him to come back indoors. It shouldn’t take too long.

 

Magnus wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Apology was how he would start. But after that, no idea. Magnus really wanted to talk about his feelings. Not just about Alec. It was about Camille too. Hopefully Raphael would be in a mood to listen. That meaning he wouldn’t just wordlessly walk out the room while Magnus was still talking. He did that sometimes. It was more than annoying.

 

Roughly two minutes later the door opened, and Raphael got in. He looked better than he had in the morning. That didn’t mean that he was looking anything like his usual self though. It was hard for Magnus to see him like this. Crushed. He had thought this was all behind. He really had. Not that he was going to say anything about it. Relapsing was something Raphael was very ashamed of, Magnus knew. In this case, because Raphael had actually told him. Not in a very sober state of mind though. That was why Magnus’ proposition yesterday had been so bad. It had been a tough hit under the belt and he hadn’t even realized.

 

“Can you sit down?” Magnus asked. He was happy to hear his voice sounding kind. Maybe a bit softer than it was intended, but that was just a plus.

 

Raphael stood for a moment longer, before slowly sitting down in the armchair. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even mumble under his breath or grunt a little. That was a bit unusual.

 

“I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t ha-,” Magnus tried, but Raphael cut him half way. He didn’t usually do that. Too polite.

 

“I know,” Raphael said shortly, gaze on the floor. He was leaning forwards a bit and Magnus was afraid he’d throw up.

 

“Are you feeling alright?” Magnus asked and got an annoyed ‘ _do I seem like I am’_ as an answer. Well, that was more typical of him. It was a good sign – it actually was. When Raphael wasn’t giving any sass, it meant he was feeling extremely low. Basically, meaning that the more he complained and insulted everyone, the better he was doing.

 

Magnus wasn’t going to lie, he was still pretty much on his toes with whatever was going on with Raphael. He couldn’t help it. There just had been too many bad things caused by his addiction that Magnus could no longer look pass them. He had done that for a way too long time. In a way he blamed himself for what had happened.

 

As a club owner, Magnus saw a lot people using drugs. Mostly just pills and party favors. He didn’t really care about those people. They were just having fun. And it wasn’t like Magnus hadn’t had his fair share of fun like that. After all he had founded his club pretty much immediately after turning 21. Even though he had been a good and most of all sound new businessman, he had partied. Oh boy, he had. Still did. But that was just an excuse for not seeing what was happening to his best friend.

 

Raphael had never been much of a party goer. Which annoyed Magnus, because parties were his favorite activity and he did want to share that with his best friend. But it had never really been Raphael’s thing. Raphael was also a good catholic boy, who worked hard and didn’t drink much. But the drinking had never been the problem anyway.

 

Thinking back, Magnus had seen the signs – and completely ignored them. Raphael had stopped calling and texting. ‘ _He’s just busy’_. He had hanged out with only few people. ‘ _Raphael was never social anyway’_. He had been pale and unfocused when Magnus did saw him. ‘ _That boy didn’t enjoy being outdoors and was probably just tired’_. He had suddenly turned very reckless with money. ‘ _Everyone spends too much money sometimes’_. Lost his job. ‘ _Oh, his boss is just an asshole’_.

 

Magnus had known that there was something weird going on with him, but he hadn’t cared enough. Nor had time for Raphael. Not before Raphael’s mother Guadalupe texted him from the hospital. It had been a shock. Heroin overdose. Magnus had been with Camille that night.  He had turned his phone off, when Camille said she wanted undisturbed attention. And Magnus had delivered. When he finally opened his phone and saw missed calls and texts from Guadalupe, the wort part had been over.

 

Raphael had been in the intensive care unit for three day. The only people who he let in were Guadalupe and Magnus. His brothers only visited his after he got out. It had been very, very dark times. Seeing his best friend, strong and stern Raphael Santiago laying hooked in all those machines has been hard in the hospital ward. Magnus didn’t want to think about that. Revisiting that living hell wasn’t something he wanted to do, which was ridiculous in a way. It hadn’t been him going through it after all.

 

“Will you come over to the neighbors’ tonight?” Magnus asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. Not because he was scared to upset Raphael, not really. The real reason for attempt casualness was actually the fact that Raphael would have some strong feelings about chasing after a married man. Magnus might have done something like that in the past and The Saint Raphael had acted as he was committing a major crime.

 

Raphael cocked his eyebrows and let out a sigh. He took his sweet time before saying; “Half an hour.”

 

That was fair. Half an hour wasn’t too bad. Magnus could totally just sit there and behave himself for that time. No doubt. Oh, he hoped Alec would still be wearing that suit as he had this morning. It had looked straight up amazing.

 

“What you mean this morning?” Raphael asked. He leaned his elbows into his thighs and Magnus realized he was screwed. _He had been thinking out loud._ Not a great turn of event.

 

“I just crashed into him this morning. Not a big deal,” Magnus lied knowing full well that Raphael did not buy that. Not even for a second.

 

“So, you were eavesdropping this morning. I knew it. You have to stop doing that. It’s disres-.”

 

Magnus cut him off to continue what he was saying; “Disrespectful and an invasion of people’s privacy, I know, I know. A man has his needs, let me live.”

 

Raphael rolled his eyes and cursed Magnus a bit more. How sweet of him, after everything he had done for that boy Raphael still chose to moralize to him. Magnus wasn’t actually offended. Raphael could judge all he wanted, he’d stand by him no matter what even if he disagreed with his actions. He was kind of a guard dog and judging granddad mixture. A great friend to have nonetheless.

 

It was almost eight o’clock already. That was what they had agreed on, right? Magnus told Raphael that they would need to leave in a bit. Thankfully Raphael understood to get up to get ready. Not to be rude, but Magnus wasn’t sure did he want to drag someone who looked like they just got out of bed to visit some technical strangers.

 

Magnus was ready to go. He had been for ages. Ready to go as in he was wearing decent clothes and his hair and makeup were fine. But mentally he was everything but prepared. What had happened in the morning was still throwing him off. What had that been about? He was convinced it couldn’t have been accidental. Alec had been flirting with him. For sure. But was it possible it was just wishful thinking?

 

It was five to eight when they left the apartment. Raphael was already getting tense. Or tenser than he had been. Magnus had to give him some credit for being able to transform his complete appearance so fast. The sweatpants and tank top had changed into a button-up shirt and straight pants, that somehow managed to look casual enough. Raphael had his hair styled too. How did he do it so fast? With some supernatural abilities?

 

“Stop that,” Raphael told Magnus, when he started to drum his thighs. He couldn’t help but to do it. The nervousness and stress he had been building up all day was finally getting out. He’d need to fidget in some way.

 

The door opened just seconds after Raphael knocked. Magnus hadn’t done that even after they had stood behind the door for a bit. Apparently, he got bored waiting and went ahead to speed it up. He certainly didn’t give a damn about letting Magnus to get mentally ready for this. Typical. Magnus wasn’t sure was he happy or not that it was Lydia who opened the door.

 

“Hi! Come in! Sorry about the stuff laying around. We’re still settling in,” Lydia said, and they followed her indoors. Raphael dared to mutter something about the apartment still being neater than their place. Rude much. He didn’t need to tell Lydia about it, even if Magnus wasn’t ashamed of the clutter.

 

Lydia was wearing jeans and a green polo shirt. Magnus was amazed by the fact that she was able to pull it off. Honestly, she looked great. Especially her hair. It had tons of small braids in it. Very chic. Magnus gave her the compliments and she seemed very pleased with them. So far so good.

 

After more formal introductions they walked through the hall into the living room. Magnus couldn’t help but notice a big wedding photo on the wall. It was a sweet picture. Raphael most definitely saw it too. Magnus could almost hear him chanting IMMORAL IMMORAL IMMORAL. Their living room was really nice. Gold and cobalt blue. Lydia told them that she had had help from Alec’s sister to decorate. She had a good eye for it, according to Lydia.

 

They had just sat down, when a bedroom door opened, and Magnus’ heart almost stopped. Then it started to beat like race horse’s heart would.

 

Shirtless Alec was standing there, casually leaning to the door frame. He was wearing jeans riding illegally low on his hips. His hair was clearly wet, and Magnus could see water drops on his skin. There was a lot skin showing. Magnus had to bite his lip to keep a straight face.

 

“Oh, you’re here already,” he said, not sounding surprised at all. Not one bit. Was this bastard doing this on purpose?

 

Alec walked towards them and offered to shake hands with Raphael who was now standing up again. Alec dared to stand right in front of Magnus. He had absolutely no shame walking into his personal space. Magnus’ knee was maybe half an inch away from Alec’s thigh. The situation right now was, that Magnus had a full view and access to a half-naked goddamn god of a man and he could not do a thing about it.

 

When the handshake was over, and Raphael sat back down, Magnus was painfully aware of how close he was with Alec. He didn’t seem to be the only one to notice it.

 

“Alec honey, could you go to get some drinks for us. Wine, maybe?” Lydia suggested and both Magnus and Raphael nodded in agreement. Or Magnus was pretty sure he had nodded. Maybe. Wouldn’t have bet his life on it – there was some other stuff preoccupying his head.  “And a shirt,” Lydia continued, and this time Magnus really wanted to disagree. He did actually. It was an accident, but the words just kind pf slipped out.

 

“Oh no need.”

 

OH NO NEED? What was wrong with him?! Raphael coughed awkwardly next to him. As if to tell Magnus that he was acting weird. Like he didn’t already know that. Magnus took a fast glance at Lydia, but he couldn’t tell what was going on inside her head. Nothing too bad, hopefully. Alec on the other hand was looking smug as ever. Which was a great look on him. Really great.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Alec said and disappeared from the door again. Not without flexing his muscles while being at it though. Jesus, what a man.

 

Suddenly, Magnus realized that he was still staring after him. _Head in the game, head in the game_. Raphael had caught the ball and he was asking Lydia about their move and such. What an angel.

 

It didn’t take much longer for Alec to come back. He was fully dressed now – which Magnus just couldn’t be too happy about. He really wanted to see more of those abs. And preferably up close and personal. Shit. He needed to get it together. Soon rather than later. But it was extremely hard.

Alec put down a bottle of wine and four classes. He struggled a bit at putting the classes down on the table – he had been carrying them from the bottom part. It had been like a reflex for Magnus to help with it. When their hands brushed together, Magnus might as well had felt flames going up inside of his stomach. Slight exaggeration, maybe.

 

When we wine was poured, and everyone was holding a class, Alec sat down next to Lydia. When he did, Magnus noticed she whispered something into Alec’s ear. If he hadn’t started to grin for a second Magnus would have missed it. It was kind of cute. Alec put his arm around Lydia before raising his class and telling everyone to enjoy their drinks.

 

“So, you two then?” Alec asked smirking and continuing his question in a second; “An item or roommates?”

 

If Magnus hadn’t been focusing _so hard_ on behaving normally, he would have had the same exact reaction that Raphael was having now.

 

“Me and _him_?!”

 

Raphael’s offended tone got Magnus to sharpen up a bit. Thank god for Raphael and his attitude.

 

“Oh, don’t go lying and say you haven’t thought we’d make a great couple,” Magnus said, knowing full well that they’d literally make the worst couple in the history of humans. Raphael rolled his eyes but backed off. Not without one more grunt and taking an angry sip of wine though.

 

Magnus told Lydia that they were just friends and temporary roommates. Not a couple. She nodded and apologized to Raphael. Although Magnus wasn’t too sure was she too serious with it. Not that it really mattered anyway. It was no big deal.

 

They sat in silence for a bit, until Magnus broke the silence by asking what they did as their jobs. He was actually interested in knowing that because of his little eavesdropping mission.

 

“I’m the chief of financial department in a real estate firm called The Institute. We sell and rent industry and business estates,” Alec told. He sounded very proud of it. Chief of department? That was an achievement for someone so young. Or Magnus assumed Alec was in his early twenties. He wasn’t sure though.

 

“I’m just an errand girl at my family’s security firm,” Lydia sighed and continued: “Way below my qualifications. I honestly need a new job.” She sounded bitter. More than that. She looked like she was ready to punch the next person asking something about it as she downed her nearly full class of wine. Alec took the class from her, and whispered something to her. Words of comfort, maybe. 

 

Magnus told them about his businesses. Having a club and a small business selling vitamins and minerals was always a weird combo to tell about. Lydia said she was quite jealous of his businesses and joked how she should start up her own firm with Alec. The way he smirked for that gave away a vibe that there was some inside joke behind that. Magnus didn’t try to snoop on it though.

 

“May I smoke at your balcony?” Raphael cut in before anyone had time to ask any questions from him. Magnus really wanted to make fun of the way Raphael phrased that. ‘ _May I smoke’_. Ridiculous. He decided to let it be though.

 

“Only if I can join you,” Lydia said and, for Magnus’ surprise, Raphael nodded in agreement. Well, that was an interesting twist to the events.

 

Alec said something about how Lydia really should quit smoking entierly. She just grinned before telling him that she was allowed to have her vices _as well_. Magnus wondered what Alec’s vices were. _Let it be men, oh please let it be men_ , Magnus thought and bit his tongue. He needed to keep it together. It shouldn’t have been so hard.

 

After Raphael and Lydia had gone to the balcony, Magnus stayed seated with Alec. The balcony was right outside of the living room. The wall was mostly windowed, so they could see what was happening in the balcony – and vice versa. Just like in Magnus’ apartment. Magnus saw how Raphael immediately seemed less tense, after taking a drag of his cigarette. _Guess that was better than shooting heroin_.

 

 

“Would you mind helping me to get these into the kitchen?” Alec asked and handed two classes to Magnus without waiting for an answer. Not that Magnus minded. He was fully aware of the fact that Alec could have carried the stuff by himself – he had done that earlier after all.

 

It wasn’t before Magnus was putting the classes down in the sink when he realized that Alec must have had a reason to get him there. He hadn’t realized that because he was feeling particularly sharp or smart now. He realized it when Alec put his hand on Magnus’ lower back as he leaned to open a cabinet above them and put the bottle of wine there. Magnus was fairly sure that it wasn’t where they stored wine bottles.

 

Alec was really close now. Way past the normally accepted line of Magnus’ personal space. When Alec took his hand off Magnus, he still didn’t move. Just stood there, Magnus’ side almost against his chest. Magnus had no idea what to do. This was a signal. Loud and clear. No one did that by accident. No one acted like this by accident.

 

The whole situation was something Magnus’ didn’t know how to deal with. How was he meant to act now? What he wanted to do, was to slam Alec against the kitchen counter and taste his lips. He really, really wanted to. What he should do, would be to walk off and not to do anything. Maybe politely tell him he wasn’t interested. That man’s _wife_ was literally in the next room!

 

They breathed the same air. Magnus could lean in just a little. Maybe a few inches. Then their lips would touch. What a poetic way to say that he wanted to kiss the lips off Alec’s face. And then more. The opportunity was right there! He could grab it, or well Alec, and it would be done. But Magnus was frozen on the spot, staring into Alec’s hazel eyes. Goddamn it, he was being useless. Would it be totally inappropriate to commit adultery right here right now in the marital home?

 

Alec looked like he was going to say something, but then Lydia’s voice called for him to bring them an ashtray. It was as if a someone turned a switch in him. Alec blinked and leaned back a little too fast for it to be casual. He did as he had been commanded, crabbing the ashtray from the side of the sink.

 

Alec left the kitchen with fast steps and Magnus had a feeling, that he wouldn’t come back if he stayed there waiting. The moment was over just like that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throw roses at my feet or toss some rock. I don't mind, just share your thoughts! 
> 
> Love you all, have a nice day and stay safe people! <3


	6. Family Honor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Lydia have a critical day for their plan. Magnus eavesdrops and gets burnt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeey sweeties! I have been meant to publish this for days but it just slipped my mind a time or two. Life is pretty hectic right now, but I'll try to update at least once a week.

Today was the day. The day it would all either crash and burn, or the plan would really get started. Lydia had been buzzing all morning. And not in a good way. She had been shaking and fidgeting and pacing. All of which were in Lydia’s most hated things to do -list. Alec tried not to intervene. Which was kind of easy, since he was going through all horror imagines in his head as well.

 

The meeting would take place at The Institute. Alec was aware that the Branwells were not entirely okay with that setting, since it wasn’t neutral ground in anyway. However, they had agreed to meet there without making public comments about it. Lydia had told Alec about all the things that the Branwells were talking about. It wasn’t ethical thing to do, but they were trying to cover up a tax fraud and a series of sketchy collaboration, so it wasn’t like Alec could have said anything about it. He had been running his mouth about the business at the Institute as well.

 

“I have always wanted a top floor office,” Lydia said as they walked towards the meeting room. They would be the firsts there. The meeting wouldn’t start for another hour.

 

Alec agreed to Lydia. This had been both of theirs dream. Top floor, a permanent chair in the board – They wanted power. Always had. During their high school years, they had talked about their dreams for their careers a lot. Mainly just talked, not done anything to actively trying to pamper their way to the top. Except for the school clubs they had been at. In high school Lydia had been focused on sneaking around with John the College Boy and well, Alec had been making out with every damn boy he could. It was a miracle that only Lydia had caught him. Or she had been the only one who knew who Alec was.

 

The meeting room just screamed dominance. The table was huge and made of dark oak. Old, leather carpeted armchairs were unnecessary big. Everything in this room was big. The paintings of the Lightwood family on the wall included.

 

There was painting of each generation of Lightwoods that had been in charge of the company. Their family was sixth in the line. The painting had been done four years ago. Alec was nineteen when it was done. In the painting, Maryse was sat down on an armchair in their living room. She had then eight-year-old Max sitting on her lap. Isabelle was sitting on the hand rest on Maryse’s right side. Robert stood on the other side of the chair, hand on Maryse’s shoulder. Alec and Jace were stood on his sides. It was a great painting made from a picture.

 

Looking at the painting was a bit weird. General sensation in the picture was clear: We dominate. The only ones smiling in the picture were Max and Isabelle. Everyone else had a strong, stern impression. When the original picture was taken, that seriousness that the photo held had lasted for maybe a minute. Jace and Izzy had been chasing each other for whatever reason they had had at the time. Alec had been dragged there in between lectures. It had been a very hectic time of his life.

 

“Do you think I’ll get on the wall here?” Lydia asked. She was now sitting down, papers in neat stacks in front of her. She had clearly noticed how Alec was staring at the painting.

 

Alec shook his head: “No. You’d need to bear children into this family.”

 

Lydia made a sour face, saying that she’ll gladly take a pass on that one. Alec more than agreed. A staged marriage was one thing, but that would be just way too much. Even he had some kind of limitations.

 

“ _Long may we reign_ ,” Alec mumbled before sitting down next to Lydia.

 

He was painfully aware of the fact, that he’d need to come out to his family at some point. He did want to have children of his own someday. Possibly, with Lydia, but definitely not in a marriage-like setting. They had talked about that actually. Alec knew he needed biological heir, if he wanted to get the company. It was ridiculous. All the talk about family honor, sharing blood, keeping up their legacy, even though his own parents had tarnished it.

 

Alec knew, that he was first in line to get to be the head of the company. Not only, because he was the oldest, but because Maryse and Robert would not be handing it to anyone else. Jace was off the list. After all, he wasn’t a Lightwood. No matter to the fact that he had been raised in their family, he was still not qualified to get to lead the Institute. Sure, he’d be allowed to work there and possibly be in the board, but he’d not lead. Other option was Isabelle, but her grunges with mother were bad enough as it was. Also, she was a woman. Not a chance in hell their family would agree on giving her the company. It was wrong. It wasn’t fair. It was many things Alec hated to think about.

 

After Alec, the only one his parents would consider giving the company to, was Max. Alec had no idea was he interested in the business life. Max was just a kid anyway.

 

“Do you want to read the papers one more time?” Lydia asked, even though she knew the answer. Alec wouldn’t look at them again before it was absolutely necessary. They had gone through them so many times.

 

Their proposition was to merge the companies, so that all Institute properties would use Branwell Co.’s security services in the future. Institute would fund Branwell Co. so that they would do the work for way less recompositing than usually. It would benefit the Institute, so they’d not need to buy security services from a second party anymore, but they would have their own service. In exchange, Branwell Co. would get a steady contract that would finally increase the demand for their services by a big percentage. That was the neat version of what was at stake here. The version that the authorities could see. The other version had been sent to both parties separately. Not by email but printed out version handed to them personally.

 

Alec was not happy to be cleaning out after his parents’ mess, but he would not be there to make the company fall. A tax fraud was a serious offence. And bribing the authorities to look the other way? It was a lot to handle. In the late 90’ and early 00’s, Institute had been both laundering money and listing profits to the tax authorities falsely. Someone was bound to go down, if they didn’t bury it all fast.

 

The Branwell Co. on the other hand had done everything perfectly legally, but they had made some bad decisions. Investing wrong place at the wrong time had made many great companies fall – which was exactly what was happening to them right now. Hopefully they could be saved.

 

Rationally thinking, Alec was feeling pretty optimistic. Robert, Hodge and Imogen were all on his side on this. They understood that a move like this was critically needed. Maryse was entirely against it, but her vote alone didn’t matter much. On Branwells’ side, Lydia’s parents had _positive minds_. Whatever that meant. Lydia couldn’t get much out of them. Victor Aldertree had agreed on merging. Alec was terrified he’d go through papers more or dig deeper to where Alec hadn’t had time to cover their tracks.

 

“Go time,” Lydia said, and Alec knew it was his que to stand up with her. He hadn’t noticed Maryse and Robert walking down the hallway. His mind was preoccupied by freaking out.

 

Alec had a weird relationship with his parents. They certainly were authorities for him, but not people who he wanted to follow.

 

“Good morning,” Maryse said as she walked in and came straight to hug Alec. He greeted both of his parents and Lydia got a bit shorter and way colder greeting from Maryse. That wasn’t surprising though. She was happy that Alec was now married and to someone with a squeaky-clean track record. Although that did not mean that Maryse liked Lydia. They had always had cool attitude towards each other.

 

“Your parents are enjoying some beverages with Hodge and Imogen,” Robert told Lydia and pulled out a chair for her to sit down. Alec sat down next to her, trying to act cool. He could not understand how Lydia had completely switched from being a wreck to this cool and collected mood. It was quite impressive.

 

Maryse didn’t sit down, not even when Robert asked her to. She was standing by the window, arms crossed. Alec could see that she was everything but pleased with the situation.

 

Lydia started chatting with Robert. They were talking about their new apartment and Alec felt something in his stomach tighten when she mentioned how nice their new neighbors were. Thinking about his ridiculous pining after Magnus was probably the last thing he wanted to do right now. There was enough messy thought in his head already. He couldn’t stop himself though.

 

The moment he had had with Magnus at their kitchen during their coffee date had been on his mind constantly. It had been so close. If Lydia hadn’t called for him, Alec would have kissed Magnus. He was painfully aware of it. But this time he had avoided it. And would in future too. The rest of their visit hadn’t been awkward per se, but Lydia had definitely known that something was up. The moment Magnus and Raphael had left, she had gone into full lecture mode.

 

She was right, Alec knew it. He was acting irresponsible. His shirtless-appearance stunt had been “excusable” according to Lydia, but she wasn’t happy about all the flirting Alec had been doing. There was too much at stake. No excuses, he would not blow it for them because he wanted to get laid. He wasn’t a kid anymore. And most of all, he would not drag Lydia down with him.

 

Alec was about to go further down on his one man’s quilt trip, when his mother spoke up.

 

“I will agree on your plan,” Maryse said and got everyone’s attention. She was still looking outside, not even trying to actually take contact with anyone: “I care about our family honor more than my personal issues. I hope I’m not the only one.”

 

“Thank you, mom,” Alec said, trying to make himself sound as humble as possible. He wasn’t sure of how well he succeeded. This was good. Actually, this was amazing. His side of the trouble was now officially handled. He tried not to get too excited. There were still million things that could go wrong. Lydia looked relieved. Alec took her hand and squeezed it. It was great.

 

Lydia smiled at Alec and it gave him even more hope that everything would be alright. It was going way better than he had feared. Even if they had used _months_ to pamper everyone, planning out their every move.

 

“I’m glad to see you too so happy,” said a voice from the door. Mrs. Branwell was smiling at them, but it was the same, tight smile Alec had seen Lydia wearing way too many times. Lydia looked just like her mother. Her hair was a bit lighter and Lydia’s jaw was stronger, but otherwise they were identical. Mrs. Branwell was a lot older of course.

 

One more squeeze of hands, before they stood up together. _The go time was really just starting_.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lydia could have cried from joy. It was a happy day. She poured champagne for Alec and herself. They would celebrate today. Alec was sat down on the couch and he gladly accepted the class Lydia offered him. The door and the windows to the balcony were open, the apartment was hot again. Breeze got it and played with their hair.

 

“We did it!” Lydia chimed, and they raised their classes fast before downing the drinks on one go. Lydia poured more drinks and Alec cheered with her.

 

The meeting had been horrible torture. Going through the plan piece by piece had taken three hours. Three hours of going through papers and answering questions that could ruin everything if they answered wrong or used the wrong phrasing. But they had did it! After the plan had been gone through very, very precisely, Alec and Lydia had been sent out to wait. They had sat in Alec’s office, staring at the clock. Lydia might have thought about what kind of job she could apply to with minimal training and history of leading a company to its crushing end at ripe age of twenty-three.

 

Actually, the worst part of the day had been walking back up to the meeting room. She had been holding tight on Alec, praying for her dear life that it would be good news. Never in her life had she been as nervous. Ever. Hearing the words had almost made her tear up _. “We agree”._ Lydia had never been so happy in her life. It was okay! They signed! The worst was behind now!

 

“Do you think we’ll get a shared office now?” She asked, trying to sound cheeky. Alec caught it but scoffed: “Oh no. I will never work in the same office with you. I have to listen to your nagging at home enough.”

 

He was joking, of course. Lydia did not nag. She ordered. Which was not the point, but whatever. Either of them could stand the chance of sharing their space with someone all the time. Yet alone being with the same person all the time. They would be working much more together now though, but only during the office hours. They had agreed on doing as little work at home as possible. They’d need to do some, but not much. They had a tax fraud to cover up after all.

 

Alec made some jokes about how Lydia had inherited her stuck-upness from her mother, but she didn’t mind. It was probably true anyway. She had a tendency to be a bit tight.

 

“So, do you think you’ll survive as my husband now?” Lydia asked and poured a little more champagne into their emptying classes. They could sorrow their hangovers tomorrow. Now wasn’t the time to think forwards.

 

“Can you handle me?” Alec said, grinning.

 

“I’d rather not handle you, if you know what I mean,” Lydia said, and Alec made a face. Not without forgetting to call her gross, of course. Oh, he was so childish. Alec was drinking maybe a bit too fast, but Lydia didn’t intervene. He deserved it. And it didn’t matter if he got light-headed now. They were alone in their apartment. It was a safe space.

 

* * *

 

 

The way Raphael was laying in the balcony almost gave Magnus a heart attack. When he realized that he was just sunbathing, it was like a warm wave washed over him. He hadn’t been that relieved in a long time. Raphael could really scare the living crap out of him.

 

“So, you don’t hate the outdoors anymore?” Magnus asked as he walked to the balcony and almost tripped over the can Raphael was using as an ashtray. It was disgusting, why didn’t he use the actual ashtray Magnus had specifically bought for him? Useless man, he was.

 

“I need the vitamin D from the sun,” Raphael grunted. Sure thing then. Definitely the main reason Magnus sunbathed too.

 

Magnus sat down on the wooden loveseat by the wall. The view over to the streets was beautiful. He really loved New York. What a magnificent place. He had considered moving back to London few times. Ragnor had almost convinced him that it would be a great idea. That had been during the time right after he had broken up with Camille the first time. In retrospect, moving wouldn’t have been the worst idea ever. Who knew, he might have been happy in London. There was just something about New York that was impossible to leave behind.

 

There was music playing. At first Magnus thought it came from the streets, but he fast realized it was coming from the apartment next door. They had all the windows and doors open. Magnus remembered how warm it had been in that apartment during the drink they had had there. Maybe there was something wrong with their air conditioning.

 

A loud voice, which Magnus recognized to be Lydia’s, screamed: “ALEC!” The yelp was followed by loud laughter and music being toned off. What had happened? They were laughing. It sounded very over the top. Were they drunk? It was three o’clock on the afternoon on a weekday. Magnus hadn’t taken them as the day drinker type. Alec definitely sounded drunk.

 

“Stop that,” Raphael told Magnus. Oh, it was obvious that he tried to eavesdrop again. To be fair he was leaning over to the edge of the balcony, eyes glued to the apartment next door.

 

“As if you were such an angel,” Magnus mumbled, completely ignoring Raphael’s order. He was interested on this little party the neighbors were having. He was allowed to want to know what kind of people he shared his home building, right?

 

Raphael was shaking his head lightly and muttering something in a low voice. Mr. Chirpy was still in a lecture mood, as is seemed. He had been going on and on about self-control the other night. Magnus wouldn’t be surprised if he was cursing him with evil spirits or something. Okay, a man was allowed to have flaws. Insane need for information was his. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back every time.

 

The neighbors were laughing still, although Lydia was telling off Alec in between it. Magnus got the impression it was just the two of them there. Were they having a date night? Wednesday drinking would be excused if they did. Or well, Magnus would excuse it for them anyway.

 

When Magnus dragged the loveseat a bit nearer to the edge of the balcony, Raphael had had enough. He said something about not being involved in unethical behavior like that and how he was decent enough to respect people’s privacy. So dramatic. Magnus just happened to be at the right place at the right time. If people talked loudly and someone overheard, it was their mistake. Or something. Magnus told Raphael to have a lovely bath when the boy marched back indoors.

 

It took a while for the neighbors to actually start to talk about something. They had been laughing and joking about their parents. It seemed as they had had some kind of family meeting earlier that day. That if anything would have been a great excuse to blow off steam. Family was the worst.

 

“You know what,” it was Lydia talking now; “my mom asked me if I was crying because of my hormones. Can you believe?” Her question was followed by giggling from both Lydia and Alec.

 

Magnus wasn’t sure what to make of that. What about her hormones? What was the joke? _Spill the tea!_

 

Alec said something Magnus couldn’t make sense of. There was some clattering coming from the apartment. It sounded as if someone was trying to get up from a chair but ended up rocking it. What was happening in there?

 

“I think we should name our kid Blue River,” it was Alec talking now, quickly followed by Lydia asking what for. Alec was quiet for a second before continuing: “Because it’s a ridiculous name and mother would hate it.”

 

“I want Blair or Quinn. Take your pick,” Lydia said, laughing. It wasn’t hysterical laughter or giggling. She did sound sober. _Could it be?_ Alec said something about Blair Blue being good enough _._

 

The neighbors were quiet for a while again. Magnus’ thoughts were racing. He went through the events of yesterday in his head. Lydia had drunk a class of wine. Not a big glass. Alec had poured maybe one fourth of the glass to her, when the others had drunk whole classes. Magnus remembered the way Alec had taken the class from her immediately after she downed it.

 

When Lydia spoke up again, Magnus was pretty convinced he was right. “Will you come to see the doctor with me tomorrow? I want you there.”

 

Alec promised that he would, before saying that he needed to get some air. Magnus realized that he had to rush indoors. He didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping for God’s sake. The door to the balcony was fast closed behind him and Magnus rushed into Raphael’s room. Raphael yelled at Magnus about how he should have the decency to knock if the door was closed, but he was having none of that right now. Fair point, though.

 

“Did Lydia smoke last night?” Magnus asked, and Raphael shook his head as a no, followed by a sharp; “Get out of here”.

 

 _Oh no_. Magnus sat down right there in the hallway. Had he not only been thirsting after and flirting with a married man, but with a someone who had a baby on the way? Jesus. He felt terrible. It wasn’t like he had known. He hadn’t had a clue. And to be fair Alec had been sending some pretty strong signals on his way. Or maybe he was just socially awkward and didn’t realize what he was doing. That could be a possibility. Or maybe he was just a flirty person. Who knew. Point was that Magnus hadn’t just been on a fast track to become a marriage wrecker, but an actual family wrecker.

 

There was a knot twisting in his stomach. For once Raphael had been right, Magnus had really been overstepping. Why did it have to go like this? He would need to back off for real. Just his luck. Magnus was many things, but he would not purposely try to destroy a family. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off: EVERYTHING HAS A PURPOSE. TRUST ME.
> 
> In the next chapter there will be more jumps into conclutions, in the behalf of others than Magnus. Also, the air conditioning will finally get fixed.
> 
> Rocks, roses, whatever. Give me some feedback please. Any thoughts about the chapter or the fic as whole would be much appriciated. 
> 
> Love you all. Have a great day and stay safe people <3


	7. That Never Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus isn't the only one misunderstanding and jumping into conclutions. Lydia is out of line and lashes out on poor Alec.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello babes! Publising this took a tiny bit longer than I thought it would, but here it is! And yes, I used my Friday night writing a fic. No regrets.
> 
> Life is crazy now, so I'm not making any promises about when I'll update. Soon, I hope. I'll leave my home and go to Portugal for two months next week and I have million college things to wrap up before that. So, busy busy busy. You get it. Thank you all for reading my fic and thank you for your patience.

Cooking was something that brought Magnus great joy and relaxation. It felt satisfying to be able to make up something from scratch and have fun trying new stuff. Getting his hands dirty, but not actually dirty, was nice. Also, he got to eat his masterpiece afterwards. Definitely a good bonus. Except he hated cooking when Raphael was around.

 

Magnus was a perfectionist, but Raphael was completely on another level when it came to cooking. It ran in their family, Magnus had learned that the hard way as a teenager. If Raphael was irritating and fast driving Magnus into fantasizing about killing him slowly with a kitchen knife, the Santiago women got him near a mental break down. Only in the kitchen though.

 

He had given up a while ago. Trying to argue with the self-proclaimed master chef was useless. Raphael rarely bragged, but his cooking was something he was really proud of. And unfortunately, his noble attitude did not reach this kind of a thing.

 

Magnus had updated Raphael on what was going on with him and Alec. Or told him how nothing had happened, but he really, really wanted something to happen. Raphael was judging him hard. It was okay. Getting told off by him was weirdly comforting. As if getting shamed for having feelings was a good thing. God, this was some kind of next level self-destructive behavior. Even though Raphael’s morals crashed with pretty much everything Magnus had told him, he was being somewhat understanding. In his own way. When Magnus told him what he had overheard about Lydia, Raphael had almost choked on the sauce he had been tasting. Not a great sign, obviously.

 

“Will you go to Pandemonium tonight?” Raphael asked as he cut peppers. Magnus shrugged. He should go there tonight. It was a Friday night after all. But he didn’t feel like going in. The staff would be fine without him. Everything was in order, Magnus had made sure of that yesterday. He could skip tonight as long as he went in tomorrow. Getting to choose when he worked was one of the perks of being self-employed.

 

Raphael put down the knife and threw the peppers into the pan. He worked in silence a moment longer and then spoke up again: “Camille called me.”

 

“What did she want?” Magnus asked. He tried really hard not to be so goddamn interested. He failed hard. Why he was still so hung up on her? The answer were probably the mind games she loved to play. Magnus wondered if this was just one of them.

 

“She wants me to work for her again at Dumort,” Raphael told. He sounded calm – weirdly so. When Magnus asked had he taken the offer, Raphael just nodded. Well that was interesting news. One that Magnus most certainly hadn’t thought he’d hear.

 

Silence fell. Magnus couldn’t help but wonder about Camille’s motivation behind hiring Raphael again. He had been a highly appreciated worker at Dumort. It had taken a long time for Raphael to get kicked out. Camille had given him some mercy. For what Magnus knew, Raphael had been skipping work and coming in intoxicated. When he got fired the spiraling had been going on for ages already.

 

In a way Magnus really missed Camille. They had had good times together. With her there was always something in the air and she made his head spin like no one else ever had. But she wasn’t good. Actually, Camille was a terrible person. Magnus had looked it through his fingers a lot. She was charming and breath-takingly beautiful. Easy to forgive. And as long as he bowed her, she was just a sweet angel to him. Although that was pretty standard, emotionally abusive behavior.

 

Raphael didn’t say much during their dinner. He read a prayer and told Magnus about his upcoming working schedule. Magnus didn’t mind that they weren’t chatting much. He tried to make few funny remarks, but they fell a bit flat. Very unusual for him.

 

When they were cleaning out the table, the doorbell rang. Magnus feared it might be Camille. Thinking about that woman was pretty much equal to summoning her. Raphael did not seem to react to the door. It was Magnus’ job to deal with it apparently.

 

 Truth to be told, Magnus was genuinely surprised when he saw Lydia standing at the door. She was holding an ice pack against her wrist.

 

“Hi, I’m sorry to disturb. Could I ask you to do me a favor?” Lydia was smiling that a bit tense, but sweet smile of hers.

 

“Oh, yes, of course”, Magnus said and tried really hard to smile naturally; “Would you like to come in?”

 

Lydia shook her head; “No, thank you. I actually need to go to hospital for a check-up. I fell from a ladder a-.”

“You fell from a ladder?” Magnus cut off, he couldn’t stop himself. That was dangerous, right? In her condition.

 

Lydia’s smile became a little tenser. She explained how she had tried to open a vent of their air condition but ended up falling. There were some maintenance people coming over in a while and she needed someone to open the door for them, since she would need to go.

 

Maybe it was his conscience, maybe it was the comprehensive feeling of crushing guilt, or maybe he was genuinely a kind, concerned person, whatever it was, Magnus couldn’t stop himself. He was fast to promise Lydia that he could take her to the hospital and that Raphael could go to open the door.

 

Lydia refused at first, but then agreed after Magnus insisted it would be fine. He was still feeling bad for the way he had acted around Alec. More than bad, actually. Raphael’s moral lectures were working as it seemed.

 

Fast forward ten minutes, and they were sitting in Magnus’ car. Lydia had let Raphael into her and Alec’s apartment. She did casually hint about their security system and cameras, even though it was disguised as promotion for the firm she worked for. Family business, apparently. Raphael hadn’t been happy about the arrangement, but only showed it to Magnus. That boy sure knew how to hiss.

 

“Would you mind driving me to Saint Amborse Hospital? It’s a bit further away, but I usually go there.” Magnus couldn’t quite wrap his head around how Lydia managed to sound so proper and polite. Was this just how she went through life? She was so pleasant, but at the same time Magnus had a feeling she could crush skulls.

 

“Saint Ambrose? My friend Catarina works there as a nurse. Catarina Loss.”

 

“I’m not very familiar with any nurses. I’m usually around doctors,” Lydia said, and Magnus wasn’t sure did he like the way she phrased that. It did sound a bit demeaning.

 

Lydia sucked air through her teeth when Magnus drove over a speed bump by the parking garage doors. Her wrist seemed to really hurt. Magnus was concerned for her. Not because of the wrist, but because of the fall. It was dangerous to have serious hits like that while pregnant. Magnus wanted to say something about it, but it wasn’t his place. Lydia didn’t even know that he knew.

 

They didn’t talk much during the ride. Magnus asked was she doing okay a few times. He bit his lip and stopped, when Lydia’s voice took a bit tenser tone. Magnus was preying a bit, he knew it. Why he was feeling so guilty? He hadn’t done anything! Not really. Just thought about it.

 

Magnus lied to himself that he was just a genuine gentleman, when he rushed to open the passenger side’s door after parking. He continued the lie when he helped Lydia to get out of the car. She did smile and say thank you but did make a remark saying it was a bit excessive. Magnus ignored it.

 

Magnus placed his hand on Lydia’s back as they walked through the hospital doors. As if that would somehow help. Lydia didn’t seem to mind too much. That was a relieve. He just couldn’t stop himself. In some weird way, he felt like it was his fault that she had fell. It made literally zero sense. He hadn’t done anything to their air con or encouraged Lydia to play handyman. He had nothing to do with it.

 

“Would you mind getting me some water?” Lydia asked before they got to the registration desk. Magnus nodded, and walked away. Not without flashing a smile at her though. He was pretty sure Lydia wanted to talk to the man at the desk by herself. Sharing a lot personal information with a technical stranger was probably not something she wanted to do.

Magnus took his sweet time at the faucet. He carefully pulled a cup from the holder and let water run until it got cold. Chill water felt good on his hand. For some reason, it was like his hands were on fire. Raphael sometimes talked about burning feel of guilt. Was this it?

 

 From the corner of his eye he saw Lydia signing a form and handing it back. It was his que to go back. Magnus shook his hand to get the most water off it, before wiping it on his pants. He filled the cup and took a deep breath before turning to walk back.

 

It felt like someone hit a knife to his back, when he saw Lydia place her healthy hand low on her stomach. What was she feeling like now? Scared? Was she in pain? Magnus couldn’t read anything from her face. She just looked… neutral. Maybe a bit bothered. But that might have been because of her wrist.

 

The man at the desk had the standard customer service smile on, when Magnus got to them. He dropped a clip board down a bit too harshly for Magnus’ liking, before turning to him: “Well you surely can guide your missus to the emergency room to get her wrist in order”.

 

“Oh, no. We’re not-, no,” Magnus tried awkwardly, but Lydia took over fast. She laughed, somewhat tense, before correcting the man. They most certainly weren’t a couple.

 

“Would you like me to contact someone on your list?” He asked and lifted the paper to see it, before continuing in an annoyed tone; “Like your husband Alexander?”

 

Lydia huffed, and Magnus wasn’t sure why. Maybe, because the desk man was seemingly acting like an asshole for no reason. Lydia kindly told him there was no need. Apparently, she would send him a text in a sec. Mention of Alec made something turn in his stomach. As an instant reaction, he once again started to guide Lydia by her back. Hopefully she wasn’t one of those “don’t touch me” – people.

 

The emergency room wasn’t too far away. Just down a hallway. Lydia showed a badge she had gotten from the first desk and the nurse said that she’s be the first to get it. Being pregnant seemed to have its perks. Or maybe it was money talking. Probably both. Magnus pulled a chair for Lydia right by the door.

 

“My wrist is killing me,” Lydia mumbled and supported it with her other hand as she sat down. Her cheeks were a bit rosy. She actually looked kind of cute. She was always beautiful, no doubt about that, but there had been something a bit cold about her when Magnus had seen her before. Now she looked just… sweet. A bit messy hair, sport shorts and baggy t-shirt suited her, in a weird way.

 

Lydia fished her phone from her pocket. She had a picture of her and Alec as her lock screen. They were standing on a field. Magnus couldn’t help but notice the way Alec’s hands were around Lydia. Cute.

 

“Sorry, I have to call Alec,” Lydia said and put the phone on her ear seconds before the nurse called her into the room. Lydia cursed under her breath before standing up. Before Magnus could react, Lydia had handed him the phone. “Talk to him,” she ordered and disappeared into the examination room.

 

The phone beeped few more times before Alec picked up. Magnus wasn’t sure were those the longest or the shortest seconds of his life. Overwhelming nonetheless. What the hell was he supposed to say? His heart skipped a beat when he heard Alec’s voice.

 

“Hi Lyds,” Alec said and hissed ‘ _shut up_ ’ to someone he was with before mumbling an apology.

 

“Umh, hi. It’s Magnus actually. Your neighbor.” Smooth.

 

Alec was quiet for a bit, before asking why Magnus had Lydia’s phone. Magnus explained that Lydia couldn’t talk to him right now, but that she had wanted him to know they were at the hospital.

 

“Why? What happened?” Alec sounded scared now.

 

“She fell from a ladder. Hurt her wrist while at it. Something about fixing your air con.”

 

Alec cursed. Very loudly, unlike Lydia had less than a minute ago. He said something about how he had told her not to do that just this morning and how she never listened to him. His anger was fast lived though.

 

“Is she okay? Where are you exactly?” Alec seemed like he was panicking.

 

“The emergency room. She was… fine,” Magnus said. How could he subtlety hint that she didn’t seem like she was going through a miscarriage or anything of that sort. He wasn’t supposed to know. Maybe this would be fine for now.

 

Alec said that he would be there in fifteen minutes and asked Magnus to update him if anything changed. Anything at all. Poor man, he was so worried. Magnus understood it, of course. The call ended just like that. Alec was probably rushing to his car or to get a taxi. Or the hell Magnus knew, he might have been running to the hospital.

 

The phone locked after the call. Magnus tried to fight the urge to take a closer look at the lock screen photo. He lost that fight, obviously.

 

 Now that he was really looking at the photo, he noticed that they were a lot younger in it. Or maybe not a lot, but it wasn’t a recent one anyway. Was it from high school? Were they high school sweethearts? That was almost disgustingly cute. Alec was wearing a shirt saying Upper East. Upper East Side, maybe? Not surprising though. Magnus had gotten the strong sense of family money from them.

 

Lydia was wearing a flowy knee-length dress in the picture and her hair was open, but there were few small braided parts in it as well. She looked like a proper church girl. Beautiful though. Alec was wearing the Upper East Side shirt. It looked like one of those fan shirts the student council made for football team’s support. Had Alec played in high school?

 

Magnus felt something twist in his stomach just from looking at the picture. They looked so happy. What if he had kissed Alec the other night? What if he had acted on his feelings some other way? He could have destroyed that. Even though he knew it took two to tango, he didn’t feel any better. What if Alec was just going through an experimental phase? Or if Magnus had just greatly misread what had been going on. Cold shivers went down his spine. He kind of wanted to throw up.

 

Just when he was about to feel a bit sorrier for himself, the examination room’s door opened. Lydia was sitting in a wheelchair and pushed by the nurse. There was a wrist brace on her hand now. The nurse handed her some papers, before turning to Magnus. She had seen them sit together.

 

“You wouldn’t mind taking her to the ultrasound, would you?” The nurse asked, and Lydia coughed violently. It was clearly faked to cut her off. The nurse looked surprised and apologized quickly. Magnus chose not to say anything. It wasn’t his business.

 

“I just spread it. Nothing worse,” Lydia said and lifted her hand a bit. The nurse told gave them instructions of where to go, and then they were good to go. Magnus handed the phone back to Lydia before wheeling her towards the elevators. He saw how she opened the phone to text to Alec.

 

“What did he say?” Lydia asked. She was clearly talking about Alec. Magnus told her that he had seemed a bit freaked out. According to Lydia, that was typical of him. He was apparently a huge worrier.

 

Lydia explained something about the hospital being great on their way. It just kind of missed Magnus. He didn’t register much of what she said. Magnus was just thinking about her and Alec. And their baby. What was the name Alec had mentioned? Blair Blue? It was a bit of a dumb name. Then again, his own last name was literally Bane. Oh, the amount of comic reference jokes he had heard about it.

 

The right ward wasn’t too hard to find. It was just a regular hospital ward, not the maternal one which Magnus had been expecting. Although he didn’t know where ultrasounds were usually taken. He had never been present for one and wasn’t sure would he ever be. Kind of a sad thought.

 

They didn’t need to wait at all, since a doctor happened to walk past them. Lydia asked, could Magnus stay on the hallway and tell Alec which room to go to when he would turn up. Magnus promised that he would. And just like that, he was waiting alone again.

 

This whole thing was stressing him. Had it been a mistake to take Lydia here? Maybe. Although, it was really a decent act of good faith. She had hurt herself after all. Magnus wasn’t feeling very good. Why, oh why was he feeling so bad? It wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t really done anything wrong to be honest. But he most certainly felt like he had. Magnus drummed his thighs and tried not to freak out.

 

After roughly five minutes, he heard fast steps echoing on the hallway. No one had gone past him during his wait. _It was Alec_. He was running and looking scared shitless. Magnus really felt for him.

 

“Where is she? Is she okay?” Alec asked, catching his breath. Magnus assured him that she was fine and pointed out the room she had went into. He was kind of holding on to the way Alec breathing was heavy and voice husky. So goddamn hot. That was a very inappropriate thing to be thinking about.

 

Alec was wearing a suit and he had a laptop bag hanging on his shoulder. He had been at work. What a fine-looking desk rat.

 

“Thank you. Umh, you can, like uh,” Alec tried a rubbed his neck; “You can just go now.”

 

After stating that, Alec entered the room Lydia had went to and that was it. He had gone. _Well, that was kind_. Should he just go now? Magnus decided it would be for the best. He had no business hanging there anymore.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lydia was laying down on a hospital bed, when Alec barged in. She had her shirt rolled up and the doctor was scanning her scarred stomach. The doctor asked should she alarm the security the second Alec opened the door, but Lydia told her he was ‘just her husband’. That was all he was now then?

 

“Is she okay?” Alec asked. He had a feeling he had been asking that a lot lately.

 

Lydia didn’t seem pleased: “She is okay, thank you for asking.”

 

Alec knew Lydia hated it, when Alec asked questions about her from others when she was in the room. Or in general, to be honest. It was entirely reasonable. Alec agreed with her. It was disrespectful. But in this case, he didn’t give a damn about respecting her. It wouldn’t be the first time she lied about her health.

 

The doctor confirmed what Lydia had said. Her spleen and liver seemed fine, and so did her spine. Alec let out a relieved sigh. He had freaked out really badly. Jace had thought Lydia had been hit by a bus or worse, when Alec had rushed off the office.

 

“I’m confident to say you’re perfectly fine,” the doctor said and stood up. She wiped Lydia’s stomach before placing a hand on her shoulder: “But you need to be careful, Mrs. Branwell. It’s not a game with this type of injuries.”

 

Alec helped Lydia up from the bed. She refused the wheelchair, saying that she could walk now that she was declared okay. Alec wasn’t too happy about that but didn’t fight her. The doctor held the door open for them and told them to have a nice afternoon.

 

It took maybe three seconds for Lydia to turn her head to all directions to make sure the hallway was empty. That should have been a warning for Alec. He realized that she was absolutely fuming way too late. Lydia pushed him against the wall, looking furious as ever. Alec was really worried for her, when she cringed a bit. She didn’t let him to voice the worry though. Lydia was already going off.

 

“What the hell are you playing at?” Lydia asked. She was pretty much spitting on his face, standing so close to him and talking through gritted teeth.

 

“What do you mean?” Now he was confused. Lydia seemed even angrier now.

 

“Oh, don’t you dear. _Magnus_ basically forced me to let him to come with me here. He was way too concerned for a stranger!” Lydia’s lips were a tight line and her eyes were wide as ever. She didn’t even pretend to be calm.

 

Okay, _what?_

 

“You had a bullet rip your stomach and you almost got paralyzed refusing treatment for your back! You almost died, Lydia! Let people help you!” Alec felt his pulse rising. He was full of Lydia acting untouchable god.

 

“But he doesn’t know that, does he!?” Lydia took a deep breath before putting her hands in her hair for a second: “This is serious Alec.”

 

“I know! You almost died. You lied to me. Yo-.”

 

“Shut the fuck up Alec. You slept with pretty much the only person I told you need to stay away, and you go and do that anyway! Have you any ide-,”

 

Alec cut Lydia this time. She was really having a go.

 

“Woah, woah, woah. _No_. That never happened.”

 

What was she talking about? _And based on what?_ Had Magnus said something? What was going on?

 

Lydia was hissing now. Bad sign. Very bad; “He looked like a kicked puppy, Alec. I’ve never seen a person look so guilty. He might blow this for us. Your actions might ru-,”

 

“MY ACTIONS? Lydia, nothing has happened!” Alec took a step towards Lydia and forced her to back off. She wouldn’t stand a chance against Alec with a broken wrist. Not that their fight would get physical anyway.

 

Lydia was laughing now. It was a little shaky and most certainly unsteady laughter. It was freaking him out.

 

“I know you were drooling after him! I excused the way you acted when he was having a drink at our place. But I never imagined you could endanger us like this. Endanger me!” There were actual tears streaming down her face, but the things she said next felt cold as ice: “You don’t have even a bit of self-control and now your sleeping around can blow it all. I knew you are a slut, but this crossed a line! I didn’t think you were that desperate for dick honestly.”

 

Okay. That went too far. Alec could handle allegations and Lydia’s trash talk to a certain point, but that was not okay. Alec wasn’t even going to answer to that. He wasn’t going to be slut-shamed for something that hadn’t even happened. Especially not by Lydia. The only person he was able to be honest was throwing it all on his face in that awful way. Alec understood that she was upset but come on.

 

Lydia seemed to notice that this conversation would go no where from that point. She shook her head and wiped off the tears from her cheeks. Alec kind of wanted to slap her. He wouldn’t, but he kind of wanted. He felt so beaten. It wasn’t fair. He knew he had been a bit out of line. But he hadn’t went there. He had stopped in time. Now it felt like it didn’t even matter. Lydia didn’t seem to care.

 

Alec hadn’t fully realized he was walking away before he had to make a choice between taking the elevator or stairs. He chose the latter. He wanted to blow off some steam. The metallic railing made the whole staircase echo when Alec kicked it on his way down. Screw this. Screw it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a wild ride. Don't worry, there will be apologies and some platonic TLC coming soon. And well, other stuff. Stay tunes folks!
> 
> Again, thank you for reading. If you want to make my day, leave a comment. Make it sweet or bitter, I like all kinda spices. 
> 
> Have a great day and stay safe lovelies <3


	8. Good Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec is panicking, Raphael doesn’t want to get involved, and Jace is a great brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii babes!
> 
> So the thing is that I won’t have my laptop before the beginning of December. I try to update before that, but the updates might be a bit shorter and not as regular. But don’t worry, I’m definitely not going to quit writing this!
> 
> More twists and turns are ahead in the story. Things are escalating!

Alec wasn’t sure what he felt like now. Conflicted, at least. He was still very angry at Lydia. Hell, he had no idea how to overcome that anger. The things she had said still felt sore and Alec had an empty lump in his stomach. How could she? She was the only person he felt really safe with. Could tell all his secrets to. And then she goes and throws it all in his face.

 

Lydia had been acting weird for a while now. There was something going on that she didn’t feel comfortable talking about. Alec didn’t want to prey. Lydia was a secretive person. It was okay. She had a right to keep things to herself. That being said she had absolutely no right whatsoever to comment on what Alec did and did not in such way that she had.

 

Yesterday’s events spun around in a wicked circle in Alec’s head. The panic when he had heard that Lydia was in the hospital. Magnus being there. The way Lydia completely ignored Alec’s worry. The way she ha-. Actually, Alec didn’t want to think about that anymore. She could explain herself later. Alec just wasn’t sure did he want to hear those explanations.

 

Alec grabbed the sides of the sink and leaned towards the mirror. His pupils were still wide. What the hell had he taken? Maybe Lydia had a point about self-control. Although his reckless actions were mostly fueled by Lydia’s words. She had called him a slut without self-control, so he had acted like one. It was ridiculous. Utterly, utterly useless rebellion.

 

Alec had come home straight for the hospital. He had been riding a wave of fury. By the point when he had gotten ten missed calls from Lydia, he had had time to yell at the walls for a good fifteen minutes. He hadn’t given a shit about what the neighbors thought was going on. He had answered to Lydia eventually. Called her a bitch and a cow with double-standards. Among other things. Alec didn’t feel so great about that.

 

The reason behind Lydia’s lashing out was still a mystery. Alec was eager to know what the hell was going on with her. At first, he had thought she might have been hiding some medical problems again. Like she had been hiding how badly injured she was after the attack. Alec had played that as a reaction to losing John. And maybe it was. Lydia didn’t talk about that to him. He hoped she talked about it to someone.

 

Alec clenched his hands on the sides of the sink. His knuckles turned white and he let go. Why was it all so damn hard? Just few days ago he had been having one of the best days of his life. And now it all felt way too much. There was probably some chemical still running in his bloodstream. What had he taken? Alec felt a bit guilty for doing drugs. He was doing exactly the same thing that he lectured Isabelle about.

 

He pressed his eyes closed and tried to piece together everything that had happened yesterday. The man he had gotten the pills from at the club. How Alec had let that man feel him. It hadn’t been something Alec liked. He had left. Then there had been more dancing. Alec had been throwing money at few boys dancing in the cages. That had been mostly just to show off. Alec’s alter ego was very arrogant.

 

What had happened after Alec had been showering the go-go boys with dollar bills was a bit hazy. The pills had probably kicked in. Alec remembers dancing with many people. He remembered the lights being prettier than ever before. He remembered the man with dark hair and blue eyes. The taxi ride. The smell of his cologne in the elevator. Lips on his neck. Alec didn’t feel regret, even if the motivation behind sleeping with that man weren’t exactly the best possible.

 

On one hand Alec felt great about it. It was just a big fuck you to Lydia. Fucking a strange man in their bed while being high on something? Exactly what a control-lacking slut would do. He got some weird satisfaction from it. On the other hand, Alec felt disgusting. Maybe Lydia was right. Maybe he should learn how not to be the way he was.

 

Knowing that that man was still laying butt-naked in his bed irritated Alec. He should go to tell him to leave. But right now, Alec didn’t feel like facing anyone. Not that practical stranger. Not Lydia. Not anyone. Alec let go of the sink entirely and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. It took one deep breath before he just let himself slide into it.

 

The bathtub had been Lydia’s idea. She had wanted a big one like this. Alec hadn’t had anything against it. They did have a separate shower as well. The tub was actually really nice. Alec fished the bath stopper from the side of it and pushed it on the drain with his feet. He reached to open the tap. Cool water started to run down his neck. It felt calming.

 

Alec closed his eyes and leaned back. He hoped he could find some clarity if he just calmed down and laid there for a while. It didn’t seem to work. He wasn’t usually this impatient. It would be fine. All would be well. He just needed to get his head straight.

 

For a second, Alec thought that going to visit Isabelle would be a great idea. Then he realized he had been getting high in a club bathroom less than ten hours ago. Going to a rehabilitation center wouldn’t be the best of all ideas right now. Maybe he would call Jace. He needed to do that anyway to make sure that dumbass hadn’t wreck Alec’s precious car. It had been a mistake to lend it to Jace. Not only because he was a terrible driver, but also because there had most certainly been some stuff happening in it. Gross to think about.

 

Before calling Jace, Alec would need to get rid of certain someone in the apartment. He would deal with that problem in a while. Alec cut the water off and let himself sink further down in to the cold water. He would stay here for a bit longer.

 

* * *

 

 

“Well you look happy on this fine morning,” Magnus said as Raphael walked into the kitchen. It took a lot will-power not to throw an insult his way. Raphael just grunted before sitting down on a bar stool. He buried his head on his hands. Goddamn migraine. Smoking two cigarettes hadn’t helped. So, it wasn’t because he needed more of nicotine.

 

“Insomnia again?” Magnus asked, actually somewhat concerned this time. Raphael nodded awkwardly and massaged the side of his head.

 

“That banging didn’t exactly help,” Raphael muttered, and Magnus joked something about the sound of life. The tone of his was upbeat and light, but Raphael sensed bitterness in his words. Neither of them hadn’t been happy about the _lively life_ next door. It had started a bit before 3 am and lasted for _ages_. Or it had felt like that. Shivers went down Raphael’s spine. He really hated hearing people having sex. Thankfully, it had been just the sound of a bed hitting wall. Still bad.

 

Magnus gave Raphael a class of water and two painkillers. Raphael didn’t have time to pick them up, before Magnus had already taken back one of the pills. Fair enough. He did appreciate the concern, even though ibuprofen wasn’t really something he had had a problem with.

 

It was barely over nine o’clock. Raphael would need to be at Dumort at 10 am. Sharp. It was just seven blocks away. Wouldn’t take too long to walk there. Raphael had to admit he was nervous to go back. Not that he would tell that to Magnus. Or anyone else. Not including Ragnor. Raphael had kind of told him about it in the email he had sent last night. Magnus wasn’t someone he wanted to bother with things that included Camille.

 

Getting back to work would be nice. Getting out of this apartment would be great. He hadn’t been doing much on the last few months. Just going to church. Visiting his mother and Rosa. Going to the addicts’ group meetings. Much hadn’t happened. It was nice at first. Not many temptations. But after a week it had became boring. Just plain boring.

 

His mother had been delighted when he told about getting his job back. Guadalupe had been laughing and had hugged Raphael out of joy. She was so happy for him. Raphael hadn’t had the heart to tell her about how he still struggled to get sleep at night and how he sometimes cold flashes and muscle contractions. Rosa knew something of it.

 

Being with Camille again would be difficult. She had straight up told him he would just work the papers and front desk, nothing more. Apparently, he had lost his credibility as one of _the trusted employees_. He was glad of that though. He had no interest in having anything to do with Camille’s filthy business anymore. Before he had. Oh, he really had. He had been so greedy for power. Not anymore. Not like that.

 

Magnus put a plate filled with toast and scrambled eggs in front of Raphael. A fork soon followed. Raphael wasn’t hungry nor feeling like he wanted to eat. He wouldn’t say anything about that though. It had been a long since the last time he actually had had some kind of appetite. Raphael ate some eggs and Magnus looked pleased. He sat besides Raphael with his own plate. Raphael bit back a remark about how the eggs he made were way better than Magnus’.

 

“Do you want a ride to work?” Magnus asked. Raphael had a feeling he was just making conversation. Magnus knew full well that he would be walking. The way Raphael pointed that out was a bit too harsh. Magnus didn’t seem to mind. They ate in silence for a bit, until Magnus broke it again: “What time do you finish?”

 

“Six o’clock.”

 

“I’ll try to be home by then,” Magnus said, eyes strictly on his plate. Oh, this again.

 

Raphael knew that Magnus felt really bad about not giving him the code to the lock. Last time hadn’t ended well, so Raphael understood the motivation behind it. He wasn’t angry. It was okay. Magnus still didn’t believe him, no matter how many times he assured him of that.

 

“I will wait downstairs,” Raphael said and got a pleased, but tense nod back.

 

They didn’t chat much more over the breakfast. Or Raphael didn’t engage in the conversation that turned into a Magnus monologue. He talked about how he would need to be at the club tonight and how he wouldn’t be back before morning. Then Magnus went into details about his upcoming meeting with some importer. Raphael couldn’t get himself to even act interested. Magnus didn’t seem to mind.

 

Raphael went through the mental check list again. He would need to take his wallet, phone, cigarettes and lighter. That’s it. He was already wearing his mandatory work outfit. Black button-up, black pants and black shoes. In a way Raphael liked the goth vibe that Dumort had. It was nice to be able to put on something tasteful for work. Raphael had hated working at a fast-food place as a teenager. The outfit had been terrible, colorful polyester and always reeked of grease.

 

His headache wasn’t as bad anymore. It was probably both because of the painkiller and eating. Acting like a proper human being really helped. Hopefully the lack of sleep wouldn’t hit him too hard today. Usually he managed pretty well on minimal amount of sleep. He probably would today too.

 

Magnus piled up the plates and said he would handle them, when Raphael got up. Raphael thanked him for that and for making the breakfast. They wished each other a nice day before Raphael walked to the door. He checked that he had everything in his pocket before going. _All good_.

 

The hallway was empty when Raphael got out of the apartment. He hadn’t even had the time to get to the elevator when he heard a door open behind him. _Great_. Forced small talk with a neighbor was very low on the list of things he wanted to do right now. Why was he raised to be so polite?

 

He’d just greet them and then try very hard to avoid further discussion. After taking a deep breath Raphael turned around, smiling as politely he could. He was a bit surprised seeing an unfamiliar person getting out of the apartment. Even more of a surprise was Alec standing there, only wearing a towel around his waist. Alec’s mouth opened a bit when he noticed Raphael and when his eyes widened, Raphael was a bit too aware of the eye contact they were having.

 

“Good morning,” Raphael wished. Oh god how he hoped the elevator would come up quickly.

 

“Oh, umh. Morning. This is my -,” a short pause: “My colleague.”

 

Alec’s stumbled with his words. It was a terrible lie. Was Raphael supposed to believe that? Seriously?

 

The man, the colleague, seemed just as surprised as Alec. He just lacked the deer in the headlight -expression that Alec was wearing. He awkwardly agreed with Alec’s statement, by saying his name was Caleb. Raphael honestly couldn’t have cared less. He wasn’t interested in whatever was going on with the two of them.

 

When the elevator chimed, and the doors opened, Raphael realized that the man, Caleb, would be joining him. Raphael nodded tightly to Alec, as a discreet goodbye, before walking into the elevator. Caleb followed him, and Alec banged the apartment’s door closed before the elevator’s had time to do the same.

 

Caleb made the air smell of sweat and old beer. _Colleagues_. Certainly.

 

Raphael tried not to judge. He understood very clearly what was going on. It was a Saturday morning. This was the time Magnus usually crawled home from whatever lover’s house he had spent the night at. Walk of shame. Raphael was familiar with the concept. Having sex wasn’t the reason for his judgement. Not at all. But Alec being a married man. That was just crossing a line for Raphael. But it was none of his business.

 

The smell of the old cologne lingered in the air after Caleb, who shot right out of the elevator when the doors opened. Raphael tried not to look at the scratch marks on his neck. Or his shirt badly tugged-in shirt. Not his concern. Not his life. It had nothing to do with him. Over.

 

Raphael would need to make sure Magnus wouldn’t know about what he had witnessed. He would see a chance and get his feelings hurt. Magnus had a troublemaker magnet. Raphael didn’t want to see him down again because a new Camille or Imasu had played with him. Not again.

 

* * *

 

 

Alec’s bad mood had peaked to a whole new level after seeing Raphael. He had been stressing about it for hours. Alec was sure Raphael had instantly known what was up. The look on his face hadn’t been very clear. He knew. And as if it wasn’t bad enough, Alec was pretty sure Magnus would know as well in no-time. Fucking hell.

 

Lydia had been right. He was reckless. He had endangered their cover story. He had endangered Lydia. He had done every single thing she had accused him of. If he had felt somewhat happy with what he had done earlier, all of that was gone now. Instead of that he was going through intense panic. Should he call her? That seemed like a terrible idea. Alec was still pissed at her. Proving her point wasn’t something he was eager to do.

 

Alec was pacing in the apartment. He had no idea what to do. Should he wait and see what happens? Should he try to find Raphael and convince him to keep his mouth shut? Both seemed like terrible options. All he wanted right now, was to call Lydia and ask for her advice. She usually had a great, entirely objective perspective to everything. Alec had a feeling this would be the one thing she wouldn’t be able to stay objective about.

 

This wouldn’t have happened if Alec hadn’t kicked _him_ out as fast as he had. He wouldn’t be having any problems, if he had just let the guy stick around for a bit longer. Or if he had handled the problem earlier. If if if. None of that was helping right now. Alec took a deep breath. Panicking was helping no one. There was nothing to be done right this second.

 

Alec sat down on the bed and reached for his phone. Two missed calls from Lydia and three text messages. Seven messages from Jace. Alec bit his lip before opening the chat with Lydia first. It would be easier to see those first.

 

 **Are you okay?** [11.30PM]

 

 **Alec I am so sorry. I did not mean any of the things I said. There is just so much pressure on me from everywhere. Although that is not an excuse for me to treat you in such way. I’m so sorry Alec, I really am. I hope you can forgive me. What you do on your free time is none of my business and I will stay out of it. I promise I do not judge you. I love you Alec. You’re my best friend. You did not deserve the things I said.** [00.12AM]

 

 **I will be staying at Spencer’s. I told him we are fighting about business. Please call me when you are ready.** [02.04AM]

 

 

Alec felt terrible. Last night he had been ready to crash everything and never see Lydia again. Right now he felt like he was on the wrong. And in a way he was. If Lydia had been saying all those things now rather than yesterday, they would have been entirely justified. But that wasn’t the situation. Why did it have to go this way? Alec tried to shake the thoughts off his mind. He opened the texts from Jace.

 

 **good to know that lydia is ok!!** [17.44PM]

 

 **this car is amazing cant believe how shit my car is compared to thsi** [08.53PM]

 

 **sorry bro but i hit a street lamp. what insurance company i should call????** [10.15PM]

 

 **HELLO YOUR CAR IS CRASHED COME ON** [10.16PM]

 

 **okay that was a joke im not driving maia wanted to drive shes so hot**  [10.29PM]

 

 **you are so lame you missed my joke** [11.05PM]

 

 **alec there is mold in the cupholders !!!!!!! that is disgusting literal mold** [07.36AM]

 

Alec couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his brother’s texts. He was actually glad that Maia had been driving, even though he wasn’t really sure what that had to do with her being hot. Actually, he didn’t want to know. The less he knew about what was going on between them, the better. Jace had a tendency to go into specific details. It was terrible.

 

The phone beeped four times before Jace picked up. Alec hadn’t even fully realized that he was actually making the call, before hearing Jace angrily mumbling what he wanted.

 

“Are you sleeping?” Alec asked, surprised. He had been up earlier, based on the message about the cupholders.

 

“Yeah obviously. It’s Saturday.” Jace sounded really irritated, as if he was explaining something simple for fifth time. _Yeah, whatever_.

 

“Do you wanna come here? It’s about Lydia.”

 

“Oh, shit is she okay? Where are you?” All irritation was gone. Jace sounded concerned.

 

Alec took a deep breath, which apparently seemed like a declaration of sorrow, since Jace was panicking on the other end of the call. Alec told him to calm down and just get there. Jace, for once, agreed without complaining at all. He would be there in twenty minutes.

 

Unlike Alec had anticipated, twenty-minutes was a really long time to wait. He had had no idea what to do. Eating had taken roughly five minutes. The pasta that had been made the day before yesterday had tasted okay, even though Alec had heated it in the micro for way too long. He hadn’t bothered to wait for it to cool down. For ten minutes he had been pacing around the apartment again.

 

When Jace finally knocked the door, Alec had been laying on the sofa for roughly five minutes. He had been staring at the ceiling, trying to calm down. He had been doing the breathing exercises Lydia had taught him. They did little to no good. It was okay though.

 

Jace was wearing skinny jeans and he was holding a jacket over his shoulder. Alec was pretty sure it was his leather jacket. Wouldn’t be the first time that Jace stole his clothes. Jace’s smirk died down immediately when he saw Alec.

 

“Jesus. Are you sure you’re okay?” Jace was scanning Alec up and down; “Where is Lyds?”

 

Alec cocked his eyebrows up and shrugged. Jace wasn’t satisfied with the answer and repeated the questing as he walked past Alec into the apartment. So much for respecting other’s living space or waiting to be invited in.

 

Jace sat down on the sofa and tapped the seat next to him. Maybe inviting him was a mistake. Alec didn’t feel like talking about anything anymore. Too late now.

 

“What’s going on dude?” Jace asked. Alec couldn’t look him in the eyes. He felt terrible. Jace assured that Lydia was fine for one more time. Alec nodded, and told him she was at Spencer’s.

 

“SPENCER’S?!”

 

“Yes. She is at her brother’s house. It’s not a big deal,” Alec lied. It was kind of a huge deal. They had never fought like this before. Not even when Alec had accidentally ruined Lydia’s finals project on their senior year. Lydia had been fuming then.

 

“But it’s Spencer. Why would she go the-,” Jace cut off his sentence and let out a low whistle; “Did you kick her out? What did she do?”

 

Alec took a deep breath and put his hand in his hair. Jace was waiting for a proper answer, but Alec had no idea what to tell him. The truth was the last thing he would be telling, that was what he knew. What could he say? Lydia had told Spencer they were fighting about business. Consistency is the key, was what Lydia kept saying. It was true. Alec shouldn’t tell another story to Jace. It could lead to much worse damage.

 

“Is she cheating on you?” Jace asked. He did sound pretty accusing. As if he knew that it was surely happening. “ _Alec?_ ”

 

Alec bit his lip and looked down. What should he say? He was so bad at making stuff up. Especially when it came to Jace. He couldn’t lie to his brother. Alec was scared to look up. What if he broke now? Told the truth about everything? No. Absolutely not. He could not do that. Jace knowing about this would be far too dangerous. Anyone knowing was. Cold shivers washed over Alec, when he once again remembered the incident with Raphael from this morning. He couldn’t handle more people knowing.

 

“No. She’s not. She would never do that,” Alec finally said. It was true. Lydia would never break the promise they had made to each other. She honored rules way too much to do such thing.

 

Jace nodded tightly, before asking another question: “Did _you_ cheat on her?”

 

Technically he hadn’t. In a way he had. It was complicated. Yet another thing he could not tell Jace. So, Alec decided not to answer. Jace read into the silence and jumped up.

 

“ALEC! Why would you do that?” Jace sounded everything but pleased. It was an appropriate reaction. Not that Alec knew what kind of reaction wouldn’t be. Maybe, if Jace had cheered.

 

Jace was standing in front of Alec now. He knew without looking up that Jace would be wearing one of his rare, judgmental expressions. Alec should deny it. Say he got it all wrong. But in a way he hadn’t.

 

“It wasn’t like that. That’s not why-,” Alec started and breathed out loudly; “That’s not why she’s at Spencer’s.”

 

“What then? Alec I don’t understand. I thought you were happy with her!”

 

Alec shrugged: “I am happy with her.”

 

 

That wasn’t a lie. He actually was. No matter how weird their situation was, he was happy with Lydia. She was amazing. Or she usually was. Right now, Alec wasn’t sure how he felt about her. There was a lot going on.

 

Jace put his hand on Alec’s shoulder and sat back down. It felt comforting – which was unfortunately getting Alec to broke down. Jace asked what had happened again, in a calm voice this time. Not accusing, just asking. It was nice. So, Alec told him. Well, some of it.

 

“We were at the hospital and Lydia lashed out about some old stuff. She said terrible things about me. It was uncalled for and I -, well I got angry. And I did something. And that something might cost us a lot. It’s about business,” Alec told. Those weren’t lies. He was actually telling the truth.

 

Jace was quiet for a bit. He rubbed Alec’s shoulder. It had been a long time they had sat down to talk like this. The last time had probably been before the wedding. That felt so distant. As if it had been years ago.

 

“You’re fighting. It happens in relationships. I fought with Clary all the time.”

 

“And you broke up.” Alec pointed out. That wasn’t really an option for him. Not if he cared about the company or his family’s future.

 

“Yeah, but we never really talked about it. We just fought, apologized and that was it. You and Lydia have been together for god knows how long. And you talk about everything. You are always together. You can work it through.” Jace’s words were calming. He was right, for once. They had been together for ages. Nothing had ever divided them entirely.

 

Alec breathed in slowly. He didn’t realize that he was crying before Jace wrapped his arms around Alec’s shaking body. It all burst out like that. The fear of everything collapsing. Fear of losing Lydia and losing their friendship. The panic. All of his frustration was coming out now.

 

Jace was saying something, but Alec couldn’t make up the words. It was all white noise. Jace ran his hands on Alec’s back. It did help.

 

They sat like that for a while, until Alec calmed down a bit. He wasn’t crying as violently again. His eyes felt a bit sore and puffed. Damn, he had really lost it. It did feel good though. And he wasn’t ashamed. Jace had seen him like this before. It was okay.

 

Jace had been talking for quite a while. Alec was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about anything particularly important. It was okay, if he didn’t listen. He couldn’t bring himself to focus enough on anything right now. Just sitting there was a task big enough.

Jace made coffee for them. He brought the cups to the living room and placed them on the sofa table before sitting down. Alec now had a blanket thrown on his back. He wasn’t sure had Jace put it there or had he done that himself. Probably Jace.

 

“I think you should talk with her. If you are ready,” Jace said. He suggested that Alec could just sent her a text.

 

“I don’t think I’m ready yet. Maybe tomorrow,” Alec answered. Or the day after tomorrow. Not yet though.

 

Jace nodded. “That’s okay. You can take your time.”

 

They sat in silence for a minute. Neither of them reached for their coffees.

 

“Do you want me to stay here?” Jace asked, breaking the silence. Alec bit his lip. That wouldn’t be the worst of ideas. Jace could be there at least for a night. Hopefully his presence would distract Alec from panicking and pacing like he was about to lose his goddamn mind.

 

“Yeah, I would like that.”

 

“Good,” Jace said, and finally took his coffee from the table. He leaned back, looking calm. That only lasted for a short second, before he broke out to a huge grin: “Sooo, do you want to know about my date with Maia?”

 

“Absolutely not.”

 

“Well, you will anyway.”

 

Alec groaned, but only meant half of it. He felt okay now. If hearing about Jace's sex life would be the cost of it, so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throw some rocks and roses at me! I loooove feedback. 
> 
> I want to say thank you for reading and commenting on my work. Thank you, thank you!!
> 
> Love you all! Have a nice day and stay safe lovelies! <333


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